The Ministry of Natural Resources recently lamented that Malawi is producing only 200,000 metric tons of fish annually, instead 700,000, and attributed it in part to bad fishing practices.

This has led to souring prices of fish as well as fish scarcity, as minimal quantities are produced for consumption because there is no breeding space, and even if they breed, they are cultivated before they grow.

Since 2012, an organization called Ripple Africa has been working to empower communities to be able to solve environmental challenges, has been promoting fish conservation in Mangochi among other districts, at the southern tip of Lake Malawi.

Its district manager, Robert Manthonyera, has lamented an increase of indiscriminate fishing practice in the district, which is unfortunately because some sections of the same society it empowers, has turned to cultivate the fish in a way that also threatens the country’s economy.

“There’s a great need for enhancement of regulations and protection of sanctuaries, which unfortunately are under attack by some unscrupulous fishermen that have no regard for proper fishing and which fish to harvest and at what particular seasons of the year,” said Manthonyera.

He added, “Community members in beach villages need to have a sense of ownership, to control illegal fishing which is a persistent challenge facing fish conservation and prevalence. This is the reason we have been empowering communities, to demonstrate the impact of proper resource use in promoting sustainable fish management.”

Manthonyera added that a community-led approach like conducting patrols are crucial, including court filings to deter potential offenders; hence Beach Village Committees are crucial in the fight against this kind of fishing.

Commenting on the matter, chairperson for Namkumba Beach Village committee, Bosco Msuku, told us that after the government shade off some power to communities through ‘decentralization’, some people in the area realized the importance of owning certain interventions, which directly affect their lives.

Msuku said they realized that t is necessary to own and take care of the environment, especially the lake because it is a direct source of income for them.

“We thought that there is no two ways about it, but to take it upon ourselves to protect not only the lake, but specifically the fish in it. This is the most direct and strategic source of income for us here, so we have to guard against careless fishing practices that do not only affect us, but even the economy of the whole country,” said Msuku.

He said, “The people here do not want their children to find themselves in a situation where the lake is in a sorry state, and without any fish for consumption and sales. They therefore even force traditional leaders to help by formulating by-laws that can help and scare away any fishermen in this illegal practice”.

Another beach village member at Cape Maclear, Esther Kalua, lamented that government’s laxity in the control of illegal fishing, is allegedly compounding the practice because the illegal fishing gear is on display in stores, but no one is arrested and punished for that.

“The country will not see meaningful economic benefits if authorities continue to allow sale of the illegal fishing gear. Our efforts are being hampered by the same government that tells us to fight this vice. For example, the Mbuna fish, which is a tourist attraction and attracts markets outside the country, is threatened, but it will not be easy to control if illegal fishing gear is not banned in store,” she says.

Recently, some members of Beach Village Committees in the district conducted sweeping exercises and confiscated illegal fishing gear in Traditional Authorities Namabvi, Namkumba, Mponda and Makanjira. The gear included wogo nets, monofilament, mkacha, kandwindwi and even mosquito nets, which catch at least every specie and size of fish in their wake.

This led to community-level fines as much as K35,000 being demanded from the fishermen, but the committees are demanding more from authorities, adding that the Fish Conservation Project that the Ripple Africa is implementing will not benefit without commitment from the authorities.

District Deputy Director of Fisheries, Titus Phiri, earlier acknowledged the gravity of use of illegal fishing gear not only in Mangochi, but the whole Lake Malawi, which is why a crackdown is crucial to normalize fish production.

Phiri said that the Department of Fisheries is doing all it can to promote conservation of including ornamental fish, which have a ready market outside the country, for example in Japan, so that the national economy has a boost.

Principal Fisheries Officer for Mangochi William Chirwa, said it is unfortunate that people are still using the gear, with very little change, and citing use of Mkacha which is allowed to be used in Lake Malombe, but is being used in Lake Malawi.

Chirwa said if the measures are not put in place to control this, the country may lose the little that is realized from the sales.

“Our act, our policy and even all our guiding documents that we have in fisheries, they empower communities to take an active role in ensuring compliance to fisheries regulations, that is to make sure that people in their communities and in areas of jurisdiction, are using legal fishing gears,” said Chirwa.

About banning of these fishing materials, Chirwa said the department has done more than enough because they have already effected a ban on use of some of these gears.

“If you talk of like materials like monofilament, these were banned more than four years ago. They are no longer allowed to enter the country, and even the Malawi Revenue Authority is enforcing this policy. So, what is happening now is that most of these fishing materials that we see, like the monofilament, come into the country using uncharted routes, and we are also heavily cracking down on these banned materials to make sure that they are confiscated, and shops mandated to sell fishing gear do not stock,” he added.

According to the principal fisheries officer, they are now actively working with Namiyasi Enforcement Center so that those that are caught are taken to court and punished accordingly. This is the place where they ensure that there is compliance in all fisheries activities.

He said they need more support though from different stakeholders for the fight against illegal fishing to bear fruits, and that fish multiplies and contribute to the country’s economy.

Ripple Africa is also operating in Lake Malawi National Park, a World Heritage site which is also overseen by the United Nations Education and Science Organization, UNESCO, to ensure that life is preserved in and outside the water.