Fishermen across the country have been given up to September 15th to apply for licenses, to avoid being forcefully evicted from waterbodies across the country, as government issues new fishing guidelines to rebuild fish stocks and promote sustainable harvesting.
The state minister for fisheries, Hon. Robert Migade Ndugwa, while addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre (UMC) on Thursday, Migade revealed that the new Fisheries & Aquaculture Regulations under the 2023 Act, introduces stricter licensing, standardized fishing gear, protected breeding areas, closed seasons, quality assurance measures, aquaculture guidelines, and a strengthened Monitoring, Control & Surveillance Unit.
“The licenses that will be issued will be species specific, meaning the license issued for example for fishing of Nile perch will be different from that for fishing of Nile Tilapia. Each fishing activity will have it’s own independent accompanying license, the licenses are non-transferable and can’t be shared less they lose their purpose” he said.
Minister Migade, revealed that there will be enhanced enforcement on immature fish markets, importers and distributors of illegal fishing gears, following the expiration of the September 15th deadline.
“Uganda is blessed with vast freshwater resources that support a rich diversity of fish species and a growing aquaculture sector, a sector that supports over a million livelihoods and drives significant export revenue” he said.
Among the new regulations released by the ministry to strengthen fisheries management include; the Fish (Fishing Capacity Management) Regulations 2026 to set the maximum number of boats allowed per water body per person and their sizes, the Closed Fishing Regulations, 2026 which provides for closing of fishing activities in all waterbodies in time and space as guided by research, the Protection of Fish Breeding Areas Regulations, 2026 to oversee the demarcation and protection of all fish breeding grounds, the Quality Assurance Regulations, 2026 to address safety of fish and fish products for human consumption.
Others include the Aquaculture Regulations, 2026 to guide the management and development of all aquaculture activities. The Fish Maw Regulations, 2026 for controlling the harvesting and trading in fish maw. The Fish Co-management Regulations, 2026 to guide the establishment, operation and roles of the fish landing committees and the Fish Stocking and Restocking Regulations, 2026 to guide the stocking and restocking of fish in natural water bodies.
Lastly, the ministry will also establish the monitoring, control and surveillance Unit which will establish the Surveillance Unit at the Ministry to support fisheries enforcement work.
