The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Marine Battalion has destroyed 5,780 illegal fishing nets worth an estimated at 1.8 billion shillings in Kwania District, intensifying efforts to protect fish stocks and enforce fisheries regulations on Lake Kwania. The fishing gear had been impounded more than a month ago during a joint enforcement operation by the UPDF Marine Unit and the Kwania District Fisheries Department.
Among the destroyed gear were monofilament nets, undersized nets, C-nets and Ita Key nets used to catch silverfish. Fisheries officials say the prohibited gear indiscriminately catches juvenile fish and destroys breeding grounds, undermining the sustainability of the lake’s fisheries and the livelihoods of communities that depend on them.
Presiding over the destruction exercise, Lt. Jackson Nuwagaba, Commander of the UPDF Marine 155 Battalion on Lake Kwania, commended landing site management committees for mobilising fishing communities and helping security agencies identify and confiscate the illegal gear. He urged fishermen still using prohibited equipment to surrender it voluntarily before enforcement operations are intensified.
Nuwagaba said protecting breeding grounds and eliminating destructive fishing practices are essential to restoring fish stocks and safeguarding the livelihoods of lakeside communities.
Kwania District Fisheries Officer Ronald Otim warned fishermen against investing in illegal fishing gear, saying anyone found violating fisheries regulations risks confiscation and destruction of their equipment.He encouraged fishermen to work closely with officials at their respective landing sites and comply with fisheries laws to avoid financial losses and support sustainable fisheries management.
Otim said representatives of all 11 landing site committees in Kwania later met at Atuma Barracks and agreed on new measures to strengthen enforcement across the lake. The resolutions include a total ban on monofilament nets, prosecution of anyone found using prohibited gear, immediate destruction of confiscated equipment in the owner’s presence, and stronger joint enforcement involving fisheries officers, security agencies and local leaders.
Charles Otim, Chairperson of the Kwania District Landing Sites Committee, said the resolutions will improve compliance with fisheries regulations, promote sustainable fishing and increase revenue generated from the fisheries sector.
He appealed to fishermen to cooperate with enforcement agencies, saying conserving the lake’s fisheries resources is a shared responsibility.
Illegal fishing remains one of the biggest threats to Uganda’s fisheries sector, with the use of destructive gear contributing to declining fish stocks in many of the country’s lakes. Authorities say sustained enforcement, backed by the active participation of fishing communities, is essential to restoring fish populations and securing the long-term future of livelihoods that depend on Lake Kwania-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
