FISHERIES

The fisheries sector is the second highest for- eign exchange earner for Uganda. Investment in the sector is estimated at US$ 200 million with employment levels of over 700,000 people.12

In

2008, 24,965 tonnes of fish were exported and this earned Uganda an estimated $124 million in ex- port revenues.13

With improved market prices for fish, government intervention for increased production and stagnat- ing supply from capture fisheries, aquaculture has begun to attract entrepreneurial farmers seeking to exploit the business opportunity provided by the prevailing demand for fish. The recent expan- sion in aquaculture has also resulted in the trans- formation of 20 to 30 percent of the smallholder subsistence ponds into profitable small-scale pro- duction units through developments in manage- ment as well as scale of production.

There is a looming crisis of dwindling fish stocks, mainly emanating from increased pressure on wild stocks worsened by the fast growing regional and international markets.

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