On the restful shores of Lake Malawi in Nkhotakota, where the sunsets painted the sky in hues of orange and purple, a silent crime was unfolding. In this heavenly corner of the world, a practice as old as the fishermen themselves had taken on a disturbing twist – the illegal use of mosquito nets for fishing.
For generations, the fishermen of Lake Malawi had depended on their nets to harvest the numerous fish that sustained their families and communities. These mosquito nets, designed to protect against a different kind of predator, has now become a weapon against the incredible life of the lake.
During the visit to some of fishing docks such as Kaliba, Sungu, Chipala, Bondo Abuja, Kanyangare, Mguzira, Maundu and Chisi in the district, there was heavy presence and massive illegal use of mosquito nets for fishing in the lake.
At Kaliba Fishing Dock one of a resident Maxwell Dejani said “This is God’s creation and for many years these fishermen have been using these nets but we still have a lot of fish, even the Fisheries office know about this but they can’t stop them and this will continue unless otherwise”
Fisheries and Conservation and Management Act section 3 part 1 (ABDFG) gives power to the director of fisheries department to impose any condition that can conserve and sustainably manage the fisheries source. This section gives some of the measures, thus including, licensing, fishing methods, fishing gears, net size, fishing areas and even fishing season.
But this law seems to be in limbo to become in operation as authorities are failing to enforce it effectively.
While acknowledging the presence of illegal fishing gears in the fishing areas, Nkhotakota District Fisheries Officer (DFO) Charles Mandala said law enforcement has been very tough in the district due to inadequate of resources for patrols.
“Every month we conduct enforcement patrols. These patrols mostly bear no fruits since we conduct them once in a month. This is so because as office we don’t have enough resources to conduct these patrols frequently. However, we train Beach Village Committees (BVCs) on the way they can enforce the law in their fishing areas. One patrol cost us a whole month budget that government allocates to us hence it is tough to do them now and again”
Mandala however lamented the act of these fishermen saying, it is putting a risk of extinction of some fish species which has for long time been the source of living to many communities living in the lakeshore areas.
Although some authorities are putting blame on the hospitals to take part in escalating the presence of mosquito nets in fishing areas, Nkhotakota District Hospital through its Spokesperson, Garry Chilinga, has denied that some hospital officials connive with fishermen to release nets from hospitals in exchanging with fish and money but he rushed to say that this ;poses a threat to the lives of people to suffer from malaria since there are possibility that some households, instead of using nets for mosquito protection they use them for fishing.
“As district hospital we have never had any incident or report that our officers connive with fishermen to bring out mosquito nets from the hospital for fishing. What we know is availability of fishing nets in fishing docks. This poses a very big threat especially when people are shunning sleeping in mosquito nets as we all know that Nkhotakota is one of districts where malaria cases are mostly high.”
Chilinga said Indoor Residential Spraying (IRS) campaign is just one way of helping in the reduction of malaria cases which in the past, Nkhotakota was always on top hence urging all residents to continue using mosquito nets.
Environmental Activists have joined the voices of the people who strongly condemn the reluctance of authorities in curbing the malpractice within fishing areas. Mathews Malata is Environmental advocate and said if this continues unchecked, Agenda 2063 on environmental sustainability will be had to be fulfilled.
“This is retrogressive and not in tune with our agenda and sustainable development goals and even Agenda 2063 arising from broken systems within the department of fisheries. There is a lot of perceived and real corruption within the department which is retarding effective enforcement, their resources are rarely used in enforcement to make sure that the fishermen are using legal gear, they seem to be part of the cartel. They even do illegal fishing practices openly because they know there is no one to enforce laws”
Malata further expresses fear that sooner or later the practice would lead to the extinction of the beautiful fish species accommodating in the restful lake.
“This has long term effect since we are losing some of the species because we are not giving a bleeding space for fish because we invade in its bleeding area now and again. It’s heartbreaking”
Maloto Chinkombero, Executive Director for Save the Future Foundation said “There has been a report which indicates that drop in fish stocks has become increasingly. For instance, in the past years, a fisherman would harvest 3 000 Chambo a day, but today men sail deep into lake and rarely return with only 400 if they are lucky. This is true reflection that something is not ok and if remain likewise we will lose all precious fish species”
It is imperative that both fisheries authorities and environmental organizations collaborate to combat illegal mosquito net fishing. Strengthening enforcement, raising awareness among local communities, and providing alternative livelihoods for those engaged in illegal fishing are crucial steps to mitigate this environmental issue and ensure the sustainable management of aquatic resources.
This issue underscores the importance of protecting natural ecosystem and preserving the delicate balance of marine and freshwater environment for future generation.
