http://allafrica.com/stories/200709220046.html
"Uganda: Fish Scarcity Hits Country", allAfrica.com Sept. 21, 2007
The article refers to fish becoming scarce in Kampala, Uganda and districts near Lake Victoria. It isn’t just any ordinary fish, it is the Nile Perch, a highly regarded seafood in Europe. Due to the scarcity, prices of fish have significantly increased. The scarcity has also put fishermen and factories into trouble. Since fishermen are catching less and less fish now, some choose to catch immature fish illegally. Some factories are suspended whereas others are even closed down due to the lack of fish. It is expected that the lake will be depleted of fish in three to five years if actions are not taken to fix the problem.
Relationship to Ch. 1 - resources (land), scarcity
Every resource on earth is scarce. As the amount of it goes down, the demand will go up which will cause the price of it to go up. It is possible to see this trend in Kampala Uganda. Since the amount of Nile Perch decreased significantly, the demand for it increased significantly which also increased the price of it significantly. The lack of Nile Perch has also created an overabundance of fishermen which caused them to illegally catch immature fish. This definitely does not help the situation and will actually hinder it. If this continues on, there will be no more Nile Perch in Kampala in the future.
Fishermen and factories in Kampala should put all their efforts into getting the Nile Perch population back up instead of depleting it. Currently, they are already having trouble with the low population of fish but what will happen when it’s all gone? Fishermen will be unemployed, all the factories would be closed, and Uganda, which exports over 30,000 tonnes of fish annually will suffer economically. A wise man once said “the first best time to do something is yesterday, the second best time is today”. People of Kampala should consider this wise quote and start fixing the problem today before it’s too late.
1 comment:
It’s true that the Nile Perch should be preserved instead of killed off by fisherman. I agree with you on the fact that pretty soon they Nile Perch will cease to exist. The people illegally catching fish are twice as bad because that means the fish are depleting even faster. The government should limit the amount of fish caught, but this may also lead to more illegal fishing of the Nile Perch. I think a fish preserve should be built in order to keep the population of the Nile Perch up. If more time were spent in trying to save the population of fish, Kampala would be better off.
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