Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters
The fishing in Zambezi has changed drastically over time. The fish that the fishermen are now catching there are unsellable. The fish are literally rotting in the water. The fish have deep ulcerations and tissue decay. Over 700,000 depend on the Zambezi for sustenance. Because of improper fishing methods over the years there has been a serious depletion of fish. The new threat to the fish is a killer fungal disease called epizootic ulcerative syndrome or EUS. This has had a severe impact on the livelihood of the fishermen. They aren’t able to support their families. The fish have also been getting smaller over the years because of climate change and overfishing. EUS is also thought to be an outcome of climate change and warmer waters. This problem of the rotting fish also has an effect on other countries including Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique. Various groups are trying to help tackle the disease and fight the effects of overfishing. Isaac Phiri is a livestock professor and permanent secretary in the ministry of fishing. He feels that it is nearly impossible to control EUS in natural waters. The SADC is trying to formulate fish disease monitoring groups. Martha Ngumbo is a veterinary researcher and she feels that EUS shouldn’t be the primary cause of focus. She feels that the disease may eventually die out. She also thinks that the focus should be more heavily on over-fishing, bad practices, climate change, and failure to support existing legislation that governs fishing. Alternative ways of fishing should also be developed.
posted by Dana Cherry
This information was gained from an article found at http://allafrica.com/stories/200910261402.html. It was written 10/24/09.