Piracy, internecine wars over fishing space and widespread corruption involving parks officials have become a daily occurrence at Lake Kariba whose water levels have been fast receding over the years due to climate change.
This was established in a four-month investigation by this publication in collaboration with Information for Development Trust, a non-profit organisation supporting watchdog journalism in Zimbabwe and southern Africa.
According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, an estimated 200 000 people living along the shores of Kariba and workers in the fishing industry have their livelihoods dependent on the lake, and the obtaining crisis is now posing acute survival challenges.
Kariba, the world’s largest man-made lake and reservoir by volume, has been a thriving fishing hub since the dam was filled some 60 years ago.
The fishing industry has now been pushed to the edge due to the drastic reduction in water levels and a plethora of other challenges. Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing are some of the significant issues threatening the sustainability of the industry.
Other challenges include overfishing which has led to the collapse of some important fish stocks, and weaknesses in the fisheries management which results in increased use of destructive fishing gear.
Lake Kariba spans the shores of Zimbabwe and Zambia and the Zimbabwean shoreline communities include Kariba Town (population: 20 000 – 30 000), Binga District (population: 30 000–50 000), Siabuwa District (population: 10 000 – 20 000) and Nyaminyami District (population: 10 000 – 20 000).
The notable tribes living on the shores of Kariba are the Tonga who are predominantly found in the Binga and Siabuwa areas and the Shona people who are present in Nyaminyami and Kariba areas.
Fishing is the major source of livelihood here although agriculture, livestock and tourism also play a part in the economy of this area.
The receding water levels in Lake Kariba have meant dwindling fishing spaces whose allocation to the growing number of the fishing crews on the lake is now characterised by corruption. Fishermen have to wrestle for the best fishing territories and often pay ‘tokens’ of between US$50 – US$100 to officials responsible for fishing space allocations.
Fishermen said they were fleeced on a daily basis by corrupt officials that are supposed to manage the lake. Management authority staffers demand bribes to allow them to go about their business.
“They take money or part of the crews’ catch especially Kapenta, threatening to throw out vessels for even the slightest or false regulation flouting by fishermen that refuse to play ball,” said Chartwell Tanga, chairperson of Siavonga Fisheries, a Zimbabwean fishing cooperative operating on the lake.
Tanga is also national chairperson of Kapenta Fisheries Association of Zimbabwe. Siavonga is one of several indigenous companies that catch and dry Kapenta for wholesale mainly to indigenous businesses.
Tanga paints a grim picture of the fishing industry sector at Lake Kariba. “We encounter robberies regularly on these waters," he said. “Curiously these robbers always know which vessels would have made good catches. They rarely strike empty vessels, and this makes us suspicious. We now believe that they work in cahoots with corrupt teams from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority commonly referred to as Zimparks, and other dam authorities with whom they share the spoils.”
Tanga said there were numerous reports from members of his cooperative, of unscrupulous officers from the dam management authorities, particularly Zimparks staffers, who made random visits to the fish camping sites demanding ‘license fees’ from those found without fishing permits. They threatened to impound their vessels and the ‘fees’, paid in cash or kind, were not receipted, he said.
Illegal fishing syndicates take charge
This investigation found that fishing permits are issued corruptly by authorities who demand kickbacks for facilitating almost anything for the fishermen. This has created cartels where members, working with corrupt officials, get easy access to the permits. Members of these cartels are now in the business of hiring out the permits to those who fail to access them.
Some boats have duplicate number plates where one registered plate is used by several other boats for a fee ranging between $100 and $150 per boat per fortnight.
Tanga, who personally runs a fleet of Kapenta fishing rigs on the lake said corruption compounded their misery as unlicensed fishermen were allowed to operate in their spaces.
"There is what we call boats without permits. These are vessels used by fisheries that "hire" temporary permits from members of the corruption syndicate,” said Tanga who leads a 12-member fishing cooperative.
“We also have people who just come from nowhere and freely enter prohibited waters including even breeding areas. They are never arrested and it has become public knowledge that they would have bribed authorities.”
Fishermen take heavy losses as robberies escalate
"We have had numerous encounters with robbers and our fishermen have lost huge catches. Whilst these ugly incidents have been widely attributed to poachers from the Zambian side, we have come across local robbers whose arrogance and impunity betray links with dam authorities,” Tanga said.
He said the losses are often heavy, ranging around US$1500 in a single attack. They have tracked some of the gangs to Kariba's Nyamhunga Township.
Some of the fish robbers set bases along the shores of the lake where they waylay and rob fishing crews that would be returning to the shores. They quickly dispose of the stolen fish by selling to visiting buyers at Nyamhunga.
We visited Nyamhunga Township as part of this investigation and found that fish is indeed the major protein source in the town. Pricing of the fish, including Kapenta and the most common bream, is determined by the source of the fish, with differences indicating, as confirmed by some residents, that fish robbers literally dump their loot in the township at very low prices.
Fights break out and people get injured
"Our business has been negatively affected by the drastic drop in water levels. We are now forced to crowd the little available fishing spaces,” said Frank Zenda a member of one of the fishing cooperatives on the Zimbabwean side.
Catches have gone down from 10 000kg to a paltry 1 000kg per annum according to records kept at the Kariba Fisheries Research Institute.
“Fights break out and people get injured in the skirmishes between various fishing groups over fishing spaces. Fishing equipment such as nets get lost as usually these clashes take place at night when vessels are docked and fishermen would be packaging their catches.
“Sometimes we return to base with nothing after these water wars, but because that is our only source of income, we have no choice but to prepare for the next jaunt and pray for luck,” Zenda said.
Part of our undercover investigation took us on an excursion with a fishing crew on one of the nights. It was a dry outing and indeed, in an effort to harvest something, the crew would drift out of their allocated spaces. We spotted several other boats well out of bounds too and a few unregistered vessels were also seen.
We noticed one small boat going around the fishing areas picking out and stopping unlicensed vessels. We saw money changing hands. Upon inquiring what transaction that was, our crew explained that the boat collecting bribes was not an official dam management vessel.
By the end of the excursion we had established that the small boat actually belonged to the syndicate that collected ‘protection fee’ on behalf of corrupt dam management authorities.
We also witnessed an unlicensed small boat being stopped and its nets confiscated. The crew had failed to raise the "protection fee".
Fishing in Zimbabwe is managed under legislation governing natural resources (Parks and Wildlife Act (Chapter 20:14 1996) and the authority to enforce this legislation is vested on the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry through ZimParks.
A fishing permit is a legally mandated license which is renewable every three or 12 months that commercial fishermen are permitted to fish in the lake and the Zambezi River. The permit is issued by ZimParks, the state agency responsible for wildlife conservation in the country.
Permits were introduced in 1990 in a bid to regulate the number of fisheries, thus preventing overfishing and aiding conservation. Fishing without a license is punishable by a US$2 000 fine and confiscation of the vessel which is forfeited to the state.
Fishermen, however, told this investigating team that the hefty fine was rarely paid because authorities took bribes. Offenders usually ended up paying amounts ranging between US$50 and US$200 which arresting officers pocketed.
An organisation working on the lake, the Kariba Fisheries and Research Institute helps to manage the fishing industry through research and capacity building for members of the fishing cooperatives. It seeks to help with fishing control as all fishing is by way of a permit with specific restrictions on fishing gear and fishing grounds.
It also helps to monitor authorisation or prohibition of destructive fishing methods.
“The regulations prohibit fishing in areas with less than 20 meters depth, but low water levels on the lake have made some gazetted areas shallow, " Tanga explained. "We are not allowed to fish in these areas, but they're our traditional fishing grounds."
Last year Zimparks adopted a nine-year management plan for the lake, dubbed Lake Kariba Inshore Fishery Management Plan (2023-2032).
The plan was officially launched on March 21 2023 at a ceremony graced by top government officials and ZimParks executives. ZimParks board chairman, Agrippa Sora and director-general of Zimparks Fulton Mangwanya signed for the agency while Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Mangaliso Ndhlovu and the permanent secretary, Raphael Faranisi signed for the government.
The plan sets out laws regulating use of the lake, including fishing timetable, a move meant to accommodate the interests of other players in the tourism sector that do boat cruises and para-sailing on the lake.
To accommodate these activities, the regulations restrict fishing boats and rigs from setting gillnets no earlier than 4pm and to pull them out early in the morning between 6am and 10am.
“No movement of boats in the lake or the Zambezi River after 1800 hours and before 0600 hours, except for Sunday or the last day of a public holiday which is 1800 hours to1900 hours,” the plan reads in part.
This investigation however found that a good number of fishing crews bribe their way into daylight fishing and were seen in prohibited fishing spaces including reserved breeding spaces in broad daylight.
At Nyaodza fishing camp where we spent a night, some rangers from Zimparks offered willing fishermen leeway for daylight fishing for a fee of US$10 per individual. A group of 11 fishermen took up the offer and made the payment for which they got no receipts.
The fishermen set out in hand-made canoes after having been told not to use engine-powered boats to avoid easy detection.
A lot more fishing takes place under cover of darkness and against the law, and pirates and robbers take advantage, hence the numerous reports of night attacks and robberies.
Fish robbers still operate during the legally allotted timeframes and reports of attacks on bona fide fishers abound. Zimparks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo confirmed challenges in the fishing sector and Kariba in particular and blamed players in the industry.
"Fish poaching is prevalent in the country especially in areas outside of protected areas with little or no law enforcement. Even in protected areas, poaching happens although it is not as rampant. The problematic poaching is that by licensed fishers who use illegal fishing gear such as small net meshes as well as fishing in breeding areas," said Farawo.
Police confirm piracy, robberies on Lake Kariba
Police confirmed robberies along the lake but would not provide specific detail or statistics.
“We have attended to cases reported by members of fishing groups who would have lost property including fuel and fishing gear. There are cases too where fishermen have lost their catches to thieves who target boats operating on the Lake," said Ian Kohwera, the provincial police spokesperson for Mashonaland West.
"We do occasionally receive reports on illegal activities on the lake although not all are related to the fishing industry. Remember we also have cases of illegal immigration on the lake and as police, we occasionally carry out joint monitoring operations with the immigration department, parks officials and lake management authorities,” said Kohwera.
Zimparks warns corrupt officers, impostors
Farawo said Zimparks had put in place various initiatives to protect the fishing industry on Lake Kariba.
"Zimparks have put in place measures to combat fish poaching including increased surveillance in protected areas to determine, detect and eliminate all forms of illegal, unregulated fishing. We have increased shore patrols, increased the number of (police) water vessels and adopted modern technologies such as Vessel Monitoring Systems to identify, in real time, illegal fishing by licensed operators in the Kapenta fishery.
“We have also enhanced awareness and education of the general public on the impact of illegal fishing in water bodies," said Farawo.
Responding to reports of corruption by officials on Lake Kariba, Farawo said ZimParks was strict on the conduct of its employees and did not tolerate corruption. He said they had reports of criminals impersonating ZimParks staff and going around fleecing unsuspecting fishermen on the lake.
"We also note the allegations that are leveled against our staff involving cases of corruption and other crimes in the fishing regions of Lake Kariba and as an agency we do not tolerate such behaviour. Anyone found on the wrong side of the law will face the consequences,” Farawo said.
“We will be glad to get any reports of our members involved in corrupt and poaching activities as our core business is to protect the natural resources on and around Lake Kariba.”
An organisation advocating for resource conservation around the lake, Bumi Hills Anti-Poaching Unit concurred and said there had been an increase in poaching on the islands on Lake Kariba in recent years which was affecting licensed fishing groups.
"We have been noticing an increase in poaching and of great concern is the wanton fish harvesting that is taking place now with the current low water levels of the lake. Unscrupulous fishers are using even mosquito nets, taking out every living organism on the lake," a volunteer with the organization, Tracy Smith said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development points at a 43% decline in the fishing population at Kariba Dam over the past five years.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources Production Department director in the ministry, Milton Makumbe, said lack of proper regulation in the industry led to overfishing and disruption of crucial breeding processes.
"In the past we would come back from the waters with more than 20 kg of Kapenta per haul but now we are averaging below 5kg," a member of a Kapenta Fishing group Alois Bandawe said.
Poverty compromises regulation on Lake Kariba
Our investigation took us further down to Nyaodza Fishing Camp, situated 120 kilometres from Kariba Town on the lake’s southern shore in Nyaminyami District. This camp specializes in Kapenta fishing.
Simon Gumbo, a crew member said sometimes they went up to a week or more without coming across a single patrol boat.
"We can go for days without seeing the authorities. Their usual excuse is that they have operational challenges, especially fuel. And indeed sometimes they show up at fishing camps appealing for fuel," Gumbo said adding that such ‘operational challenges’ compromised authorities as poachers easily bribed them.
Poachers crowd out bona fide fisheries
The Kariba Dam is divided into several fishing catchment basins namely Mlibizi, Binga, Sengwa, Bumi/ Chalala and Sanyati. The basins are named after the rivers that flow into Lake Kariba.
This investigation established that there should be an average of 500 fishing rigs or boats on the lake on both the Zimbabwe and Zambian sides. Reality though is that as many as 1500 vessels are floating on the lake at any given time. Most of them are unlicensed, according to the Kariba Fisheries Research Institute.
Information gathered from the organization reveals that as of April 1 2024, there was a total 434 registered units on the lake, owned by 129 companies. Of these, Sanyati Basin has 172 boats from 70 companies while the Kariba Basin has 27 floating units owned by 13 companies, signifying a six and three decrease in the number of units from last year respectively.
Fear of witchcraft protects illegal fishermen
The natural population growth in the Kariba communities and immigration has increased the number of people dependent on fishing and the successive droughts in recent years have driven more people into the industry.
Because of the resultant pressure on the lake, some fishermen now accommodate unlicensed people on their fisheries (for a fee) and these people end up buying their own fishing gear and embarking on illegal fishing.
This investigation established that these new illegal fishermen would be using their hosts’ fishing permits in exchange for money and or free labour. Such working relationships have become commonplace along the shores of the lake but authorities have failed to bust them because of the protective nature of the relationships in these communities.
“There are no whistleblowers here,” said a fisherman who identified himself only as Mafu. “Communities here are very superstitious. So, fear of witchcraft and losing important social relations supersedes the urge to report illegal activities”.
Women relegated to mending nets, sex work
The fishing camps along Kariba are male dominated with the few women in the industry relegated to fish sorters, cleaners and menders of nets. Most of the women that have made it in this industry are engaged in fish sales and as such are found mostly in Kariba town rather than fishing areas.
A significant number of women that have remained in the fishing areas during the drought period have turned to sex work for survival. Sandra Butawo a 34-year-old mother of two said most women waited for fishing crews at the river banks to sort and clean the fish which they would take to the market. They did not join the crews due to the long periods that fishermen take in the water. They also cited safety issues associated with venturing into the lake.
"Usually the fishing crews take a whole week in the water and they sometimes come back empty handed, having had run-ins with robbers. Now, as a mother it's hard to spend a week away from the children, so we focus on mending the nets, sorting the fish and marketing," Butawo said.
She said the low fish catches currently being experienced had seen more women spending longer periods on the river banks and lake shores where focus had turned to commercial sex.
"Some women are turning to sex work in the fishing camps to get preferential treatment on accessing the scant Kapenta," she said.
This aspect probably explains statistics from the Kariba district office of the National Aids Council of Zimbabwe whose recent research found that sexually transmitted infections in Kariba District are concentrated in the fishing camps.
Kariba district development coordinator, Desmond Anele Gumbo said various initiatives to address the fishermen’s plight were ongoing.
"We are aware of various challenges faced by the fishing industries which inevitably affect the general economy of Kariba. We are losing revenue," Gumbo said.
There have been attempts to bring together various stakeholders from Zambia and Zimbabwe to mitigate these challenges but the idea has remained a pipedream.
“Engaging all rig owners or representatives in the Sengwa basin and other areas to work together and arrest illegal Zambian operators is key to ensure we protect our livelihoods,’’ said 57 year -old Clarion Kabirabira, a veteran fisherman.
Clever Mutondohori of Maruva Fisheries said he was a multiple victim of suspected Zambian ‘pirates’ operating in that part of the lake. They took away fish, clothes and fishing equipment, he said.
A Zambian fisherman we spoke to, however, refuted the allegations. David Mwemba said he and his compatriots operated according to the regulations. He accused their Zimbabwean counterparts of trying to elbow them out of the industry.
"We all know that the water has receded on the lake and that we are all experiencing low catches, but our Zimbabwean counterparts want to elbow us out of the industry by fabricating robbery stories," Mwemba said.
“We also encounter these robberies and corrupt patrol officers. Remember this is just water and there is no clear demarcation to show that this is Zimbabwe or Zambia. What is needed is just finding ways to preserve our industry."