Volume I Issue 2
concerns are taken into account, Hussein thinks it will be easy to fight illegal fishing in Tanzania. “If the fishermen could get
enough capital, none of them will bother to fish with illegal tech- niques or methods. But we are poor and many have poor fishing boats with no capacity to move in deeper, rougher waters,” says Hussein, drawing the distinction between equipment used by ille- gal and legitimate fishermen. His advice, like that of many other for- mer and current small-scale fisher- men, is for the government to es- tablish a contract system in which low-interest loans will be extended to fishermen. In addition to these senti-
ments, Hussein offers me more opinions about the state of the Tanzanian fishing sector. He wants the government to develop a stron- ger communications strategy with the marine soldiers so that they stop arresting small-scale fisher- men without due cause. “We are poor, so it takes some time for us to raise the required monies for a fishing license,” he laments, ex- plaining that the marine soldiers will accost fishermen even when they have valid licenses. “But we have to cry to our government to communicate with the marine sol- diers.”
“If we really want to grow
the fishing sector to the scale that will be helpful to our economy, we must do something with existing cooperation between fishing com- panies,” declares Hussein, closing
our interview. “There must be a system in which our small-scale fishermen can improve their ca- pacity and at last manage to stand independently.” Yohana Budeba, Director-
General of the Tanzanian Fisheries Research Institute, has a different perspective regarding the prob- lems of illegal fishing and govern- ment corruption. He agrees that there is a need for well-planned so- lutions to be implemented quickly so that the sector can grow while protecting natural fisheries. But contrary to what the fishermen I approached for this article are say- ing, Budeba says there have been extensive efforts to include the thoughts of, and to an extent work alongside, small-scale fishermen during government programs in Tanzania. “I think we must do some-
thing to improve our fishing sec- tor,” says Budeba. “We must make sure that polices regarding fish- ing are strengthened, especially in terms of management and protec- tion, so that our fishermen can do their jobs in a sustainable way.” “We also have also to look
at and ensure that fishermen are participating in discussions and carrying out plans that concern fishing issues,” he continues, ex- plaining that too often, small-scale fishermen will walk away from government programs to help the fishing sector. “This of course will help in many senses, as they will be developing a belief that they are cared for and considered im-
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