Lt Col Mercy Adah Tukahirwa , the overall Commandant of the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) has called for cooperation among the fishing community in the country as a way of fighting illegal practices on the lake and the fish business.
Lt Col Mercy Adah Tukahirwa made these remarks during a sensitization event in Kalangala where she urged everyone to cooperate with FPU and follow the fishing guidelines to avoid conflicting with the law.
‘’Fighting immature fishing is our number one mandate as a Fisheries protection unit. Fishermen should change their attitude towards soldiers because their role is to enforce the Fisheries Act, not to mistreat them’’, noted Lt .Tukahirwa.
Tukahirwa assured the fishing community that UPDF’s presence on the lake is for a helpful reason and stressed that nobody is above the law, therefore they should adhere to the SOPs and fishing guidelines.
Ms Eva Kwesiga, the Kalangala Resident District Commissioner (RDC), thanked the government for promoting responsible fishing on the water bodies and reminded fishermen that the law against illegal fishing practices will continue to be enforced.
“I advise everyone carrying out fishing to aviod illegal fishing practices, transportation, and dealing in immature fish,” Kwesiga stated.
Kalangala stakeholders thanked the army leadership for reviving the fishing economy because the fish stocks had been depleted.
The Fisheries Protection Unit-FPU also destroyed illegal fishing gears worth millions of shillings impounded in various operations previously.