The effects of a fishing ban in Lake Kivu have begun to bite after prices of fish skyrocketed in the country.

Rwandan fishermen have raised concerns that their Congolese counterparts, who also rely on Lake Kivu as their source of livelihood are on a fishing spree despite restocking efforts.

The lake is on the border of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

A kilogramme of Tanganyika sardines (sambaza) that used to cost Rwf4,000 mid this year has shot to Rwf6,000.

Sambaza is widely consumed fish species in Rwanda both by low-income earners and upper classes.

However, high prices have forced consumers to scrap it from their shopping list.

The 150 per cent price increase, according to fishmongers, was expected, as over 70 per cent of fish in the country come, from Lake Kivu.

The Rwanda government routinely suspends fishing whenever it emerges that the mature fish are depleted from the lake.

“We banned fishing in the lake to allow breeding. We have small volumes of water and, once in a while, we have to close the lake to allow the fish to breed and restock,” said Dr Agnes Kalibata, Minister for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

Unregulated fishing

But, even as Rwanda enforces the ban, Congolese fishermen continue with unregulated fishing using illegal gear that catches premature fish.

“We have now asked the African Development Bank to rein in on the Congolese. They have the same project (responsible fishing) on Lake Tanganyika and we want them to help us too,” a top Rwandan government official said.

The ban was occasioned by yearly decrease in fish production on Lake Kivu.

Records indicate that the highest production registered was in the 1990s, when about 6,563 fish could be caught, but the volume has been falling.

Fishermen say that whereas they used to catch 15 tonnes of fish daily in 2009 daily, the production dropped to three tonnes last year.

Salim Habanabakize, a fish farmer, said this partly explains why the prices of fish are increasing not only in Kigali but also at the landing sites.

Besides sambaza, prices of other fish species are also increasing. In most supermarkets in Kigali, the price of tilapia fillet has increased to Rwf4,000 from Rwf3,000 six months ago.

However, a kilogramme of bonny fish has been relatively stable, costing between Rwf2,500 to Rwf3,800 in most markets. This is an increase from Rwf2,000 per kilogramme last year.

Hit by a growing demand for fish to feed the growing population and ensure steady supplies in the hotels, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry embarked on a fish production programme, targeting 155,000 tonnes annually by 2017 from the current 25,000 tonnes per year.

Boost fish production

The ministry restocked some lakes and rivers and is also encouraging fish farming to boost fish production, and reduce the money spent on fish imports.

Market players say fish farming sector is still constrained by a shortage of fingerlings and high cost of feed.

READ: Govt seeks more funds for fish farming sector

The country still lacks the capacity to produce fingerlings to restock its lakes and depends on imports from Uganda.

Tilapia fingerlings, described as fast growing with a high reproductive rate, are bought in from Lake Albert in Uganda at Rwf5,000 each. Breeding fish is more expensive than mature fish.

Data shows Rwanda can only produce 16,000 tonnes and imports 9,000 metric tonnes.