AfricaPress-Tanzania: CURBING illegal fishing has contributed to the increase of revenue, generated from fishing activities in Mkinga District Council, Tanga Region to 96.6m/- in 2019/20 compared to 45.3m/- in 2015/16.
Speaking to a team of experts from the South West Indian Ocean Fish (SWIOfish), Mkinga Council Director, Rashid Gembe said that before introducing project, the council generated low revenue from fishing activities.
Gembe told experts who went to monitor the progress of the project implementation in the district that it has helped significantly to the elimination of illegal fishing, especially through use of bombs and shells.
“When the SWIOfish project started operating in our district in 2016, it established about 14 Marine Resource Protection Groups (MRPG) that have helped provide education on the protection of fishery resources including caring for the coastal environment,” he said.
“In addition to strengthening of the Beach Management Units (BMUs), it also strengthened maritime and land patrols to protect fishing resources, and I acknowledge that these patrols have helped reduce illegal fishing and now the revenue of the Council has started to rise because fishermen are now making sustainable harvesting of natural resources fishing,” added Gembe.
Following the success, Mr Gembe requested the SWIOfish project to continue educating the people living in the coastline in the district, so that the available fishing resources continue to benefit the present and future generations.
In addition, the seafarers should continue to appreciate the education by disseminating it to the people living along the coast, who have received the education to take care of other resources so that these resources continue to benefit those communities and the nation as a whole.
“I urge people to stop cutting down mangroves and continue to be part of the initiatives, to protect fishing resources so that they can continue to contribute to community welfare,” he emphasized.
He reminded the people in the district that the fight against illegal fishing, is a very serious and continuous initiative intended to uproot the malpractices along the coastline.
“Citizens should realise that we are doing this in good faith, taking into consideration of the Tanzania in the next 50 years and the generations to come,” he explained.
The Director thanked the SWIOfish project for providing them with various tools that have helped the council to use them in protecting marine resources.
