THE government has acknowledged the challenges faced by the fishing industry over the years saying there is need for robust strategies to mitigate the challenges
Zimbabwe’s fishing sector is grappling with significant challenges, leading to an underproduction of over 75%.
Once among Africa’s top three fish producers, Zimbabwe now ranks much lower, currently achieving an annual production of approximately 15 000 metric tonnes, falling far too short of the 60 000 metric tonnes required.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development secretary Obert Jiri said Zimbabwe had a deficit of 45 000 metric tonnes against a demand of 60 000 metric tonnes of fish annually.
Speaking during the Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chain Indaba held in Harare recently, Jiri said the industry was facing a myriad challenges that needed to be addressed to help reposition the country’s status and close the deficit in the fishing industry that is above 75%.
“So we say that the government is trying to ensure that the fisheries story is embedded in our production system. So we started the Presidential Fisheries Programme, which of course, was launched by the President and the aim is to really ensure that there is fish everywhere across the country. We then, as we evolved, realised that we needed a more robust strategy,” he said.
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“But currently, we are producing 15 000 metric tonnes and we need to push that up to 60 000 metric tonnes. That is the story that you have been hearing and to close that gap, the ministry put together a special department.
“It is supposed to be a huge department, which looks after the fisheries story. That is why the ministry’s name is long, because it moves between them.”
He also called on stakeholders and fish farmers to collaborate with the ministry to ensure a steady supply of fingerlings.
“And one of the limitations at that time was the availability of fingerlings. So we needed a strategy to ensure that we have enough fingerlings to grow to 60 000 people,” he said.
“But we need to bring fish close to the villages. Remember [despite] our low productivity, we are saying, in each village, there needs to be a business.
“In our strategy, we say there can never be business in a village which doesn’t include fish. So in our village business units, one of the key components is two 20mx20m fish farms. Which are stocked by the fish for fingerlings that we produce.”
Buy Zimbabwe chairperson Munyaradzi Hwengwere called on Zimbabweans to be competitive and support local products.
“So we need, as Zimbabwe, to be competitive with respect to our fish products because right now, we are not as competitive as our neighbours and because of that, consumers are running away from our fish in preference to imported fish,” he said.
“Worse still, a lot of the imported fish is smuggled and it’s dangerous for your health because fish, unfortunately, if you don’t take care of it, it will harm you.”