Fishermen count their losses as weeds invade the Nile River

For more than 25 years, Mr. Marko Onegalit depended on fishing as the most reliable source of income for his family.

Through this trade, he was able to put his children and other dependents through school, manage his medical bills, and build a decent home.

He also hoped to expand his business, but now the future looks bleak.

His daily fish catch and sales have been drastically reduced due to invasive weeds that have covered almost all the fishing areas at the Amor landing site in Pakwach district.

Speaking to this publication at the weekend, Mr. Onegalit said: “We cannot easily ride our boats on the River Nile because weeds have taken over most of the space. Buryan blocked the entry point on the Pakvach bridge.”

He added: “Fish stocks have also declined and it is difficult to catch fish and have a lot of them to sell. In a day, I would earn Shs500,000 from selling fish, but now for the past three months, I earn about Shs220,000 daily. This has created a financial dilemma for me as I have to pay for my children’s education.”

The invasive papyrus weed, which moved from the Albert Nile to the Panimur, feeding in the Nile River, blocked most of the water space. Therefore, it is difficult for fishermen to row. Fishermen also say that papyrus weed is suffocating fish because there is not enough oxygen to support aquatic animals.

“I used to catch three buckets of fish every day, but now I can manage with just one bucket. When paddling, you must constantly avoid weeds. Sometimes snakes live in the weeds, which are also dangerous for our lives,” explained Mr. Onegalit.

Another fisherman, Mr. Nixon Opoka, said he used to earn about 250,000 shillings daily but now he hardly earns 100,000 shillings a day. “This weed has doubled our problems because we are also fighting UPDF naval operations, loans and now weed.”

Mr Opoka said the landing site, which used to have about 70 fishermen, is now down to about 45. He said some of them have left the business because of the constant crackdown on illegal fishing gear, loans, invasive weeds and poor fish business.

“Nowadays, it is difficult to eat fish and run a fishing business smoothly in Pakwach because fish stocks have decreased due to natural factors and government policies that prevent fishermen from catching fish. This has put some of my colleagues out of business and is increasing poverty. in households,” Mr. Opoka added.

One of the fishmongers in Pakwach town, Ms. Dorothy Aseng, said weeds in the Nile River have not only affected fishermen but also fishmongers who now travel long distances to look for fish outside Pakwach town.

She said this has affected their profits. “We are getting access to fish from Ntoroko area because there is not enough fish in Pakwach anymore. A kilogram of fresh fish now costs Sh18,000 from Sh12,000. This has pushed some fish traders out of the fish business,” Ms Aseng said.

A resident of Pakwach Town Council, Mr. Benson Olindi, said that since the water is covered, some tasty fish spices such as electric fish, yellow fish and hangar in River Nile are disappearing.

“It became difficult to get to the Hangar, because most of them are not from this landing place. They could move to another place, where nothing would threaten their lives. A piece of Angara costs 25,000 shillings, not 15,000,” he said.

Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) Public Relations Officer Allan Ssempebwa said weeds have covered more than 20 acres of Nile water in Pakwach district.

He Unra now deployed a weeding machine. “We need more machines to clear the accumulated water weeds at the Pakwach Bridge, but at the moment we need financial assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture to get more funding,” said Mr Ssempebwa.