Fish shortage hits Zambia as prices skyrocket

Zambia – Zambian fish traders have criticized fish shortages in Itezhi -Tezhi district in the Southern Province blaming the difficulties fishermen undergo during fishing resulting in the prices of the commodity increasing.

Fish traders reported in an interview that the shortage has led to sardine fetching whose price has increased from US$5.657  to US$6.788.

They also added that the fishing business is no longer profitable as it used to be previously resulting from the scarcity of Kafue breams which began from the time the fishing season opened in March.

“Nowadays, we make less profit, sometimes no profit at all, because it is even more expensive to buy from the fishermen,” Mulenga, a fish trader explained

According to Elizabeth Mutelo, one of the fish traders, lack of the fresh breams has forced many other traders to switch to sardine trading.

“We used to have an adequate supply of breams, and the prices were reasonable, but now you cannot find that kind of fish,” she stated.

She added that fish traders are experiencing difficulties in acquiring enough fish due to the restrictions imposed by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.

Meanwhile, Oscar Chanda, a fisherman also explained that the scarcity of fish was due to the high cost of fishing caused by the rising fuel prices.

He added that fishermen pay fees to Fishermen Federation, to the council, as well as license fees amounting to US$112.235 at the Fisheries Department and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife

Last year, the Zambian government urged experts in the fisheries sector to devise lasting and durable solutions to mitigate the challenges buffetting the fish industry.

Speaking at the Fisheries and Aquaculture Conference held in Lusaka, Fisheries and Livestock Minister, Makozo Chikote, lamented the low availability of quality fingerlings which affected the growth of the sector.

According to FAO  and the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture Professor Manuel Barange, there is a need to enhance and actualise production to meet demand at local and foreign markets in Zambia as it is the leader in aquaculture production in the sub-Saharan region.

Earlier this year, fish shortage hit Lake Victoria as prices soared up to threefold in the last few years pushing families that previously depended on fishing as their means of livelihood into untold suffering.

According to David Obinju a fisherman in Lake Victoria, the situation was bound to happen at some point after people began using dangerous fishing gear like ‘ring’ for nearly 15 years.

The situation forced some fishermen to resort to farming to supplement their incomes, but poor weather and extensive drought in the area killed their enterprises.

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