 |
| Jeff Zulu and Erick Phiri packing fish |
JUST at the mention of the name Luangwa, what comes to one’s mind is fish. This is so because the socio-economic status of the people in this area is largely influenced by the activities which take place on the Luangwa and Zambezi rivers.
And fishing dominates them all.
Luangwa district is situated in a unique setting at the confluence of the two big rivers, Luangwa and Zambezi.
Luangwa is somewhat a border town because it is where Zambia shares a border with Mozambique along the Luangwa River on the eastern side of the district and on the southern side is the Zambezi River along which Zambia shares a border with Zimbabwe.
Its geographical location makes it the best place for fishing as an activity. And so it is.
But the imbalance in the benefits around the fishing activity is a cause of worry and anxiety among the local people.
Despite being one of the largest exporter of fish to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Luangwa has little to show for it.
“Our fish has not benefitted us in any way. For decades, we have been seeing people come here and take our fish away for export to DRC, but at the end of it all, this area has remained undeveloped and the proceeds from the fish business is directed somewhere else,” says Emmanuel Tembo, a local resident.
Mr Tembo notes with concern that the fish industry in Zambia has remained underdeveloped, with little benefit to the citizens.
“It is unfortunate that the natural endowments Luangwa has, largely remained untapped as the district has nothing to show for its rich water resources. It has vast land and favourable climate. Instead, the people that benefit are the outsiders, including those in our neighbouring countries,” Mr Tembo said.
Zambia holds about 40 percent of southern Africa’s water resources in its lakes and rivers, giving it an advantage when it comes to economic activities like fishing.
But there has not been direct benefit to the locals living around these water bodies.
Another resident, Felistus Ngoma, shares Mr Tembo’s concerns.
“If you go to the harbor, you will see huge amounts of salted fish leaving Luangwa, but at the end of it all, there are no benefits accruing to the locals. I know there is a little levy paid by these fish traders to the council, but I don’t think it is enough to steer any meaningful development in Luangwa,” Mrs Ngoma said.
Mrs Ngoma feels the export of fish to the DRC has adverse effects on not only Luangwa, but the country as a whole.
She feels that the growing population of Zambia translates into an increasing demand for fish and fish protein making the fish industry a lucrative business.
“We are aware that the growing demand of fish has resulted in widespread over-fishing, hence the need for the introduction of control because if left unchecked, we will forever lose out as a country,” Mrs Ngoma said.
For Mrs Ngoma, measures like the annual fish ban need to be fully enforced in order to control fish stocks in our rivers.
Wander over to the Luangwa harbour and you find baled tilapias as well as the famous Luangwa fish, which actually comes from Mozambique.
The bales of fish are offloaded from boats by youths at the harbor which has poor infrastructure.
But the fish stocks in these rivers are under threat.
“The fish stocks in Luangwa and Zambezi river on the Zambian side have been depleted. Currently, we get the fish from Mozambique. For us to get a good catch that will translate into meaningful profits once sold, we spend over a month in fishing camps in Mozambique. I usually take my fish to DRC and the profit is better than having it sold in Zambia,” says Veronica Mwamba, a fish trader.
Asked how much she makes every time she takes fish to DRC, Ms Mwamba says she makes over K15,000 on every tonne of fish sold.
“Just like any business venture, this fish business, too, has challenges. We find ourselves in various situations because sometimes we give bribes to people to help us have access to the DRC market,” she said.
The flow of fish goes both ways, or rather multiple ways. Zambia exports high-value fish to its neigbouring countries and around the world.
In the local supermarkets, there’s evidence that consumers are willing to spend their money on tilapia, but the preference is given to the outside market.
Unlike the DRC market, where the quality of the fish is paramount, the local supermarkets suggest that what is important to the consumers is just the name and taste of Luangwa fish.
Hence the need to ensure that sustainability goes deeper than just the fish itself. We rarely think about how sustainable the can is, nor about how the metal was mined, neither about the transport costs for the fish or packaging.
Does it matter that we eat so much of other nations’ fish, while sending our most prized delicacies to foreign buyers? The answers vary, some people worry about reports of illegal fishing practices and pollution in Zambia’s water bodies where some fish are still caught in unsustainable ways.
What is certainly true is that Zambia is continually losing a lot on the fish exports, worse off through the illegal fish exports taking place in various water bodies country-wide. PUBLISHED IN THE ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL ON MARCH 19, 2017. HERE IS THE LINK: https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=96603
No comments:
Post a Comment