Fishing sites and villages/communities in Uganda are mostly on islands and at landing sites. These act as central points for fish trade and fishing.
Most activities of the fish trade take place at landing sites which act as both collection and trading centres for fish. The major freshwater sources have several landing sites which act as centres for fishing activities. Lake Victoria has Kasensero and Kyabasimba landing sites in Rakai District, Kasenyi and Kigungu in Wakiso District, Katosi and Ssenyi in Mukono District, Masese and Wairaka in Jinja District, and Gaba in Kampala district. The landing sites on Lake Kyoga include Kayago and Namasale in Lira District, and Kikaraganya, Kikarangenye and Lwampanga in Nakasongola District. Landing sites on Lake Albert include Abok and Dei in Nebbi District, and Kabolwa and Wanseko in Masindi District. Landing sites on Lake Edward and Lake George include Kasaka and Katunguru in Bushenyi District, and Katwe and Kayanja in Kasese District. [1]
Ggaba landing site is found on Lake Victoria, in Kampala. It is used as a centre for fish trade. Fishermen set off from the site and return with fish to sell. The fish mostly caught in the waters near the site include Nile perch, tilapia, lungfish and catfish. Fishing is mostly done in the middle of the lake, a little distance from the site. Tilapia are fished near the shore.
Fishing has changed at the site over the years, from using small canoes to using motorised boats. The mode of transportation of fish has also improved. They are moved in containers with ice, unlike before when they were simply dropped inside a boat and then delivered.
Lutoboka landing site is found on Lake Victoria, in Kalangala District, on Bugala Island. It is a tourist destination with hotels and resorts. The fish mostly caught at the site include Nile perch, tilapia, sprat and silverfish. Most fishermen engage in fishing of silverfish, tilapia and Nile perch. Fish preservation at the site is done though fish smoking, sun drying and steel cases. The fishermen usually fish at night. They leave in the evenings and return in the morning. Fishermen engage in farming and animal rearing to supplement their income.
In Uganda, fishing is most widely done on a large scale on the 84 Ssese Islands. The biggest and most active of these is Bugala Island in Kalangala District, [2] and Koome Island in Mukono District. Fishing is the principal economic activity on these islands.
Males dominate the fisheries (98%). The mean age of fishers is 29 years, with age 30 dominating. The majority of fishers are married (70%) and have families (74%). Most fishermen have stayed on landing sites for close to nine years. The fishermen are of varied ethnic backgrounds with Baganda being 49%; the Samia 14%; Basoga 9%; and Alur, Iteso, Bakenye, Bagwere, Adhola, Banyankole, Banyarwanda, Jaluo and Banyala constituting 28%.
Youthful men do the fishing while the women are involved in fish drying (sardines), traditional processing of fish and cooking. Most fishing units are owned by people who do not go fishing themselves but hire others to catch fish. The involvement of family is less. The other groups involved in fishing include fish traders, boat owners and fish smokers.
The Nile perch, also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout much of the Afrotropical realm, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana, and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of Lake Maryut in Egypt. The Nile perch is a fish of substantial economic and food-security importance in East Africa. Originally described as Labrus niloticus, among the marine wrasses, the species has also been referred to as Centropomus niloticus. Common names include African snook, Victoria perch, and many local names in various African languages, such as the Luo name mbuta or mputa. In Tanzania, it is called sangara, sankara, or chenku. In Francophone African countries, it is known as capitaine. Its name in the Hausa language is giwan ruwa, meaning "water elephant".
The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four islands in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria in Uganda. The islands are coterminous with the Kalangala District in southern Central Uganda, which does not have any territory on mainland Uganda.
Kalangala, also known as Ssesse, is a district in Central Uganda. The district is coterminous with the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria and does not have territory on mainland Uganda. Like other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Kalangala which is located on Bugala Island, the largest of the Ssese Islands.
Mukono is one of the districts in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mukono is home to the district's main commercial center and district headquarters.
Wakiso District is a district in the Central Region of Uganda that partly encircles Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The town of Wakiso is the site of the district headquarters. Kira, the country's second largest city and suburb of Kampala, is in the district.
Mayuge District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mayuge, where the district headquarters are located.
Lake Kwania is in the districts of Lira, Apac and Amolatar in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is part of a large wetland along the White Nile between Lake Victoria and Lake Albert. The wetland, which includes Lake Kwania, the even larger Lake Kyoga, and other water bodies and swamps, consists of about 3,420 square kilometres (1,320 sq mi) of open water and about 2,180 square kilometres (840 sq mi) of permanent swamps. Of this total, Lake Kwania accounts for 540 square kilometres (210 sq mi), about 16 percent, of the open water.
Oreochromis esculentus, the Singida tilapia or Graham's tilapia, is a species of cichlid endemic to the Lake Victoria basin, including some of its satellite lakes such as Kyoga, in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. Its common name refers to Lake Singida, but this population is the result of an introduction that happened in the 1950s. This fish is highly valued by local fishermen, who know it as ngege.
There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. The latter has made up the largest and most significant share of all fishing. Open water covers 15.3 percent of Uganda's surface and comprises five major lakes which are the main sources of fish in the country. Lake Victoria continues to be the most important water body in Uganda both in size and contribution to the total fish catch, followed by Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga.
Lake Nabugabo is a small freshwater lake in Uganda.
Bugala Power Station is a 1.5 megawatts (2,000 hp) biodiesel-fired thermal power plant located on Bugala Island, in Kalangala District, in the Ssese Islands Archipelago, on Lake Victoria, in south-central Uganda.
Koome is an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda. The correct spelling that matches the phonetic pronunciation is with two "O"s.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of the catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced in the Lake in the 1950s.
Katosi is a town in the Mukono District of the Central Region of Uganda. The town is an urban center under Mukono District Administration.
Bukuzindu Hybrid Solar and Thermal Power Station is a 1.6MW hybrid solar and diesel fuel-fired thermal power plant in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community.
There are two major sources of fish in Uganda; one is from aquaculture, the other from fishing in rivers and lakes. Different types of fish flourish in different water sources. The waters of Uganda contain an impressive array of fish species—over 90 in all. This count does not include the Haplochromis complex, which itself is made up of more than 200 species.
Fishing gear and methods used in Uganda are both modern and traditional. Fish in Uganda are caught mostly with plank canoes and to a lesser extent, fiberglass boats. Some dugout canoes are also still being used. The plank canoes are generally 4–12 m (13.12–39.37 ft) in length and dugout canoes average 3.5 m (11.48 ft). The total number of vessels is about 17,000 and about 20% of these are motorized. Artisanal fishermen use various gear including gillnets, seines and hook and line. In a number of localities, traditional methods including baskets, traps and mosquito nets continue to be used. The gear commonly used includes gillnets, lift nets, scoop-nets used in light fishing; hook and line gear and fish traps.
Gaba landing site is found on Lake Victoria, in Ggaba, Kampala Uganda. It is used as a centre for fish trade in Uganda.
Lake Victoria supports Africa's largest inland fishery, with the majority of present catch being the invasive Nile perch, introduced to the Lake in the 1950s. Prior to the introduction of Nile perch as well as Nile tilapia, the fish community was very different and consisted mainly of 'Ngege' and Victoria tilapia as well as vast numbers of Haplochromis species. Fish communities in the first half of the 20th century are known primarily from a unique fisheries survey conducted in 1927-1928 by the Colonial Office.
Kasensero landing site is a fishing port found on Lake Victoria, in the Rakai District of Central Uganda, a short distance from its border with Tanzania. Kasensero is used as a centre for fish trade in Uganda. The community has a population of approximately 15,000 inhabitants.