South Sudan Op-Ed: Fish for Food and Jobs

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Options12, Sep 3, 2012.

  1. Options12

    Options12 Guest

    In about 1982, a fishery expert Kristin Fremstad of UNDP told the press that the waters between Shambe and Lake No were keeping very huge quantities of fish whose catch could make Southern Sudan a fresh water fish production part of the former country (Sudan). What does that mean? It simply means that the quantity of fish that we can catch from that part of the Nile in now independent South Sudan will be enormous. If that is the case why then can't our government ministries, at national and state level in the Central Equatoria, Lakes and Jonglei states where the mentioned part of the Nile flows make use of this God given fishery resource to improve our national economy.

    They can do that in several ways one of which is by empowering our national fishermen by building their capacity and giving them loans in-kind of fishing gears including nets and engine-driven boats, introduction of modern transport system of hauling fresh fish to distant towns, and improving the old ports along the Nile as assembly points for fish caught in the waters of the Nile and for retailers to buy fish for transportation to distant markets.

    Our country can benefit a great deal from the fish that our own fishermen can catch in our part of the Nile between Nile and Renk and in other tributaries of the great river because they also teem with fish of various kinds. What is needed is to reorganize our fishermen and give them the right guidance in commercial fishing and within just a short time our markets will be full of fish in all the different forms: fresh, smoke dried and sun dried. The prices of fish will come down.


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