Revamp natural sh i s - expert
A FISHERIES expert says capture shery is at risk of extinction in Zambia because Government has concentrated more on reared sh. Rodgers Kandama, who is a retired fisheries officer, said Government has pumped a lot of money into fish farming at the expense of the natural fish in rivers and lakes. He said currently the country’s fishing industry was only surviving on aquaculture, promoted on lake Kariba and in other regions. He said Government should have an eye on the capture fisheries in order to protect the hundreds of jobs in the sector, considering that capture fisheries was the biggest employer for locals who were not in formal sectors. Mr Kandama said because of inadequate manpower to police fishermen, natural fish was fast depleting in major rivers and lakes. He said on Lake Kariba in ia onga, the fisheries department has only three ill technical staff, asituation he described as unfortunate considering the vastness of the lake. Mr Kandama stressed that because of low staffing levels, coupled with lack of both water and land transport, fisheries officer were drawing salaries from Government for doing nothing. ‘’It’s sad that people in the department are drawing salaries for doing nothing because of lack of tools and resources to do their job. Even when they want to conduct patrols, the officers have to borrow boats from the same fishermen that they are supposed to police,” he said. He called on Government to urgently revamp all components in the fisheries department namely research, training, extension and management services if the sector was to contribute positively to economic development and food security.