President Yoweri Museveni has urged fishing communities in Kikuube District to adopt responsible fishing as the only way to protect their livelihoods on Lake Albert.
He made the call while addressing thousands of supporters at Kiziranfumbi Primary School Playground during a campaign rally.
The President warned that bad fishing practices were destroying fish stocks and threatening the future of communities that depend on the lake.
“The issue about fisheries is, first, to stop bad fishing and catching young fish, and second, to stop attacking fish breeding areas,” Mr Museveni said.
“You must stop catching young fish and avoid breeding areas.”
He acknowledged complaints from fishermen about alleged harassment by security teams enforcing fisheries regulations. The concerns were raised earlier by the Speaker of Parliament and NRM Second National Vice Chairperson, Anita Among, who said local leaders had asked for presidential intervention.
Museveni said regulation was unavoidable but stressed that enforcement must be fair, consultative and sensitive to local realities.
“Even if people are fishing properly, there must be a limit to the number allowed on the lake,” he said.
“Not everyone who wants to enter can be allowed, or the resource will be destroyed.”
Kikuube District depends heavily on fishing for jobs, food security and cross-border trade with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The President said protecting the lake was about survival, not punishment.
He linked responsible fishing to African tradition, saying elders understood the need to protect young fish.
“When you catch a young fish, you put it back,” he said, citing communities in Pakwach and Buliisa.
“If you eat the young fish today, there will be nothing tomorrow.”
Drawing a parallel, he added: “I am a cattle keeper. I do not eat calves. It is taboo. In the same way, it is not logical to eat immature fish.”
Museveni said the UPDF Fisheries Protection Unit, deployed in 2017, was meant to restore depleted stocks, not to victimise communities. He pledged continued dialogue with elders and local leaders.
To reduce pressure on Lake Albert, he urged lakeshore communities to adopt commercial fish farming. He cited his own fishponds as proof that aquaculture can generate high returns.
“Fish farming can earn you more than fighting on the lake,” he said.
The President warned that the future of Kikuube depended on protecting the lake.
“If we destroy the lake, we destroy ourselves,” he said.
