Boat marking to combat illegal fishing—ministry

Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change director of fisheries Hastings Zidana says boat marking will help in dealing with illegal fishing activities in Lake Malawi.

He said this on Tuesday when the ministry in collaboration with Pact Malawi-Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi (Refresh) Project launched the boat-marking exercise at Ngala Fishing Landing Site, Senior Chief Kanyenda in Nkhotakota District.

Zidana said boats that operate in water bodies will be registered and marked for easy identification.

He said: “The development will go a long way in conserving unique fish species in sanctuaries in Lake Malawi and rivers as boats will be easily identified using the colours representing their district of origin.

“We targeted to register 60 000 boats across the country and the exercise will assist us in giving penalties to those breaching the Fisheries Acts.”

Pact Malawi-Refresh chief of party Daniel Jamu said the exercise will help in licensing the boats.

“We hope the exercise will address the challenges on the lake because this has never been done before. Our local structures as beach village committees are involved to ensure the exercise is successful,” he said.

Nkhotakota District Fisheries Association chairperson Hassan Phiri said they are committed to supporting the exercise to address challenges the fishing industry is facing in the district.

Pact Malawi supported the meeting which attracted different stakeholders, including chiefs.