Dar es Salaam. With the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) revealing several lapses in the management of fisheries resources in Tanzania, the Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, now wants government officials to take measures to combat illegal fishing.
In his latest performance audit report on the management of fisheries resources in Tanzania, the CAG, Mr Charles Kichere, says the government has lost about Sh15.162 billion in potential revenue during the past five years due to fishermen’s use of unregistered and unlicensed fishing vessels.
According to Mr Kichere, for the past five years (from 2018 to 2023), a total of 28,615 vessels have been deployed in Tanzanian water bodies to conduct fishing activities, but only 7,730 have been registered or licenced.
“The presence of both unregistered and unlicenced vessels has led to a potential cumulative loss of Sh15.162 billion, which would have been generated through the fisher’s registration licence fee, the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (Tasac) fee, and tax revenues. The local government contributes about 75 percent to this overall amount,” said the CAG, Mr Charles Kichere, in the report.
But against that background, Mr Majaliwa has instructed ministries to allocate funds in the upcoming fiscal budget to combat illegal fishing.
He said this on Sunday at the official launch and handover ceremony of the patrol boat to aid in tackling illegal maritime activities in the country.
The boat, valued at more than Sh1.3 billion, was acquired with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Japanese government and is a milestone of a pivotal project aimed at combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and maritime activities in Tanzania.
“Illegal fishing is still a challenge on both Zanzibar and the mainland,” he said.
He further urged the relevant authorities to make provisions for ongoing maintenance of the boat to prolong the boat’s life span.
The premier emphasised that the use of this boat should take into account the priorities that are included and listed in the national guidelines dealing with criminal activities.
He urged managers who will manage the boat to prepare a specific communication plan for both sides of the union.
By doing so, it will strengthen and control illegal activities on the seaside on the mainland and Zanzibar and take care of them.
UNDP resident presentative in Tanzania, Shigeki Komatsubara, said that UNDP was looking forward to working with all countries’s stakeholders for the peaceful and prosperous future of Tanzania and Africa.
“UNDP reaffirms its steadfast commitment to maintaining close collaboration with the government to achieve the sustainable development goals and vision for 2050 and propel forward the blue economy sector for the prosperity of all Tanzanians,” he noted.
Mr Komatsubara explained that fishing poses a great threat to maritime ecosystems, with global economic losses estimated at $50 billion and substantial financial losses.
He recognised the critical role of maritime security in sustainable economic development, environmental preservation, and national security.
“I cannot stress enough that investment in robust maritime security is essential to safeguarding the coastal areas and ensuring our sustainable and inclusive growth,” he said.
According to the CAG, illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing poses a severe threat to the fisheries resources in Tanzania.
In Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater body in the world, it has been reported that 76 percent of fish species are currently facing extinction.
Share this news
This Year's Most Read News Stories
Kampuni ya Elon Musk kuzindua mtandao Tanzania
Huduma ya mtandao ya Elon Musk ya Starlink inatarajiwa kupatikana nchini Tanzania katika robo ya kwanza ya 2023, huku wachambuzi wakisema maendeleo hayo mapya yatakuza uchumi wa kidijitali.Continue Reading
Tanzania Declares End of Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025.
The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
In response to the latest outbreak, Tanzania’s health authorities set up coordination and response systems, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, at the national and regional levels and reinforced control measures to swiftly detect cases, enhance clinical care, infection prevention as well as strengthen collaboration with communities to raise awareness and help curb further spread of the virus.
Growing expertise in public health emergency response in the African region has been crucial in mounting effective outbreak control measures. Drawing on experience from the response to the 2023 Marburg virus disease outbreak, WHO worked closely with Tanzanian health authorities to rapidly scale up key measures such as disease surveillance and trained more than 1000 frontline health workers in contact tracing, clinical care and public health risk communication. The Organization also delivered over five tonnes of essential medical supplies and equipment.
“The dedication of frontline health workers and the efforts of the national authorities and our partners have paid off,” said Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses, WHO Representative in Tanzania. “While the outbreak has been declared over, we remain vigilant to respond swiftly if any cases are detected and are supporting ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial care to families affected by the outbreak.”
Building on the momentum during the acute phase of the outbreak response, measures have been put in place to reinforce the capacity of local health facilities to respond to potential future outbreaks. WHO and partners are procuring additional laboratory supplies and other equipment for disease detection and surveillance and other critical services.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.
In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Source: allafrica.com
For years, a UK mining giant was untouchable in Zambia for pollution until a former miner’s son took them on
For years, the people in the villages around Chingola in Zambia endured frequent health challenges and dead fish floating around in their water source, but that was just the beginning of their nightmare.Continue Reading
