ZANZIBAR, Nov 2 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — ZANZIBAR President Dr Hussein Mwinyi has called for concerted efforts to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Tanzania.
Dr Mwinyi made the remarks during the commemoration of the World Fisheries Day (WFD held here which brought together fishers and other stakeholders who exhibited their marine activities and products. The president was represented by Zanzibar Second Vice-President Hemed Suleiman Abdalla.
He said IUU is still posing a threat to the development of the fishing industry in the country.
“After practicing environmentally friendly fishing, we embark on the value chain of the fisheries and marine products resources,” he said.
The main purpose behind this day is to highlight the importance of sustainable stocks of fisheries in the world, to strengthen human rights for the small-scale fishing communities, to make a true difference in the working conditions of fishing communities and to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Dr Mwinyi further said that both Zanzibar and Tanzania have been doing a lot to empower fishers by providing them with skills, capital (loans), modern fishing equipment and markets (construct new fish markets and storage facilities) along with plans to construct fish processing factories.
“We plan to invest more funds in the fishing industry. In Zanzibar, using the International Monetary Fund- Covid-19 recovery fund, we managed to purchase 577 small fishing boats and 500 small carrier vessels have been distributed to seaweed farmers,” he mentioned.
He also explained that both fishers and seaweed farmers have benefited from the equipment including sleds, nets, GPS and fish finders and ropes as well as the ongoing construction of a modern seaweed factory in Chamanangwe, Pemba.
Minister for Livestock and Fisheries in the Union government, Abdallah Khamis Ulega said both his docket and the Zanzibar Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries remain committed in empowering the small fishers and seaweed farmers.
He said that in Mainland more than 179,000 fishers have been licensed to fish in the deep sea, a move aimed to boost their income.
The World Food Programme (WFP) Resident Country Director, Sara Golden Gipson, said her organisation has been contributing to Zanzibar’s economic development, especially in the Fisheries sector, as well as boosting women economically by capacity building and other projects.
She thanked the Zanzibar government for continued cooperation with WFP as she pledged to strengthen relations for the realisation of the Isles blue economy agenda. — NNN-DAILYNEWS
