We shouldn’t import fish- Lubinda

Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda says it is sad that Zambia has remained a net importer of fish despite being endowed with a lot of water bodies.

Mr. Lubinda says the situation is unacceptable and needs to come to an end.

He says the country which is said to have 40 percent of water bodies in Southern Africa has the capacity to become a net exporter.

Mr. Lubinda says government is aware about the situation and has since put in place various measures to increase fish production.

 

He says government is working in partnership with cooperating partners such as the World Bank and the International Fund for Agriculture Development to support aquaculture in the country.

The Minister says number of private players have gone into fish farming by putting up ponds or caged fishing using existing water bodies.

He says there is need to encourage farmers to consider getting into fish farming.

 

Mr. Lubinda has however expressed concern on power fishing methods which he says have led to a decline in fish population.

He says government is looking at assessing the fish population.

And Patrick Mambwe a Fisherman in Mpulungu is concerned that most fishermen in the district are getting a raw deal from fishing companies.

He has since called for government intervention to help locals benefit from the hard work.