BY MENGESHA AMARE
Unquestionanably, Ethiopia is one of the landlocked countries in the Horn of Africa characterized with a wide range of topographical, ecological, geographical, and climatic conditions accounting for a wide diversity of its biological resources both in terms fauna and flora.
It has housed a number of rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs and the water bodies in different parts of the country that can be fished, and in some water bodies are there numerous school of fish and fish farming potential towards contributing to the economic trajectory.
Taking the huge fish resources in many water bodies in the nation and the way it has to employ to garner the benefit it deserves out of the aquatic fauna into account, The Ethiopian Herald had a stay with Alemayehu Asmare, an agro economist graduated from Haramaya University and working for a certain fish farming enterprise, to seek a professional and scientific idea.
He said that Ethiopia is a land-locked country in the horn of Africa gifted with numerous aquatic resources, including many natural lakes, large river basins, numerous wetlands, and reservoirs.
“In all fishing localities in Ethiopia, most fishermen are organized in cooperatives, representing the communities around the lake, reservoirs on the islands, although a considerable number of individual fishermen are operating outside the background of enterprises, simply because it is an open access resource,” he said.
He further stated that there are 180 different species of fish in Ethiopia. Though the country is endowed with several water bodies containing immense diversity of aquatic fauna, fish handling in Ethiopia is at its lowest level and remains at its traditional stage. Starting from the collection of fishes from the net or hooks, fish are filleted on the floors of boats and mostly sell on the shoreline of the water bodies.
“Fishing production system in the country is mainly artisanal in its nature which makes use of traditional technique and tools. Even though fish has provided the fishing community with a great contribution, it has been characterized with low production and underutilization due to elementary and labor-intensive fishing gears, inaccessibility to potential market areas, lack of developed processing technology, lack of government support, absence of strong and well functioned policy, overfishing, the existence of illegal fishermen, shore cultivation, deforestation, lack of training and extension services. All these are stumbling blocks of the proper utilization of fishery sector,” said Alemayehu.
As far as the price rise is concerned, he said, “Seafood, predominantly referring to fish, has a very high demand, especially as a good source of proteins. The high demand for fish and its low supply makes the prices rise. Increased costs will balance the supply with demand and meet what is needed. That is why fish dishes are becoming highly costly. Large differences in costs and earnings of fishermen exist between the various water bodies, as per the availability of marketing outlets.
Responding to the question why the price is almost becoming unaffordable, Alemayehu stated that the fish market in Ethiopia is not as prominent as its eastern African neighbors. It owes its low supply to being a landlocked country.
High volumes of market-sized fish need to be produced, processed and supplied to nearby urban markets in a bid to come up with the capacity to address the demand of the society as much as possible. This requires an efficient organization of the value chain. This approach is both capital and technology intensive. Since neither the technology nor the required management skills are currently available in Ethiopia, the subsector is in a position to be highly backed for further progress.
Intensive fish-farming systems require very high investment, skilled management and reliable sources of water, fingerlings and high-quality complete fish feeds. Conservation schemes and management strategies of Ethiopian water bodies have to be well consolidated and improved as well so as to help the nation exploit fishery resources and the sub-sector untapped potential as it deserves, he added.
According to Alemayehu, the country has a high diversity of immense fauna, accounting for over 200 fish species. The production potential yield of Ethiopia is accounted for 94,500 tons per annum on average in different water bodies. However, the actual production is 38,370, still far below the estimated potential yield. The main factors attributable to low production of fish include illegal fishing activities, lack of awareness, overfishing, wetland degradation, deforestation, invasive species, lack of infrastructure, and technologies.
Capacity building toward aquatic policies, pollution control, fishery legislation and awareness rising about illegal fishing are of paramount importance in saving the water bodies from a damage and increasing fishery production, he said.
Micro and macro dam construction and river impoundment have also created innumerable large and small water bodies stocked with fish for fisheries. Both inland capture fisheries and aquaculture activities are concentrated around the many lakes and rivers in the Rift Valley, as well as around the Blue Nile, which supplies water to the country’s largest water body.
He said, “No doubt, the country is rich in fish diversity and abundance. Ethiopia can produce a bit close to hundred thousand tons of fish per annum on average in different water bodies, but the country inadequate in food security and the economic growth is minimum, due to lack of technologies capable of resolving the problems of fisheries production.”
As to him, the fishery sector highly contributes to sustaining livelihood of rural fishing community though it is mainly retrograded that characterized with low production and underutilization due to, high post-harvest losses, poor infrastructure and access to fishing materials, overfishing, agricultural expansion and wetland degradation. Those problems need a critical and proper assessment or research in each specific area.
Highest runoff born to rainfall variation in different areas brings the sediment load in the water bodies. For example, in Lake Tana sediment load and siltation are current problems. Similarly, in Lake Ziway, the impacts of climate variability and change on fisheries resources has been observed with changes in fish species diversity, size and composition species distribution possible species extinction and reduced productivity.
He further elucidated that the country’s fish production also affected by diseases. Parasites and disease associated conditions also decrease fish production potential, too. It is the common and main problem for the entire world in both capture fishery and aquaculture.
According to Alemayehu, in addition to registered producers, an increasing number of informal fishermen tends to join the fisheries sector, mostly on a part-time basis. These fishermen are not organized at all, although some of them have been supplied with gear through non-government organizations. Hence, these bodies who are illegally running activities have to come together and form associations or incorporated in cooperatives with a view to enabling themselves to get what they need and helping the nation gain out of the sub-sector—fishery.
Honestly speaking, he said Ethiopian aquaculture is recognized as an alternative means of achieving food security in particular and poverty reduction in general, and is now regarded as an integral part of rural and agricultural development strategies.
For instance, the inland fishery comprises Rift Valley lakes (Chamo, Abaya, Ziway, Lake Tana, Lake Hashengie, Baro and Tekeze rivers. Interestingly, there is fishing in all these water bodies, and the existing role of fishery is significant in the country’s overall economy except the subsector in the country is far below its potential.
The Ethiopian Herald April 5 2023
