Fishing in Ethiopia
The fishing and fish farming have in Ethiopia has a long tradition, they have, however, due to the internal situation of the country since the independence of the former coastal province of Eritrea lost its importance. Today fishing is mostly confined to the country's inland waters.
However, Ethiopia also has many lakes, rivers and reservoirs. However, fishing contributed less than one percent of the gross domestic product in 1987. Furthermore, several studies report that only 15,389 tons were actually caught in 2001, 30 percent of the estimated potential of 51,481 tons.
Fresh fish is mainly consumed near the lakes of the Great Rift Valley. Outside these areas, however, the internal market for fisheries is small. Two factors contribute to this low level of local fish consumption. First, fish have not been integrated into the diet of most residents. Second, because of religious influences on consumption habits, the demand for fish is only seasonal. During Lent , for example, Christians refrain from eating meat, milk and eggs, and therefore consume the fish.
Although the Second Five-Year Agricultural Development Plan (2001-2005) set a number of targets to improve the yields of national fisheries, there are a number of problems to be overcome. Federal and state laws on commercial fishing did not exist until 2002/2003. This has led to localized overfishing . Some commercially important species are overfished, including the Nile perch in Lake Chamo and tilapia in Awassasee and in Zway Lake.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Wubne, Mulatu. "Fishing". A Country Study: Ethiopia (Thomas P. Ofcansky and LaVerle Berry, eds.) Library of Congress Federal Research Division (1991). [1]
- ^ A b "Information on Fisheries Management in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" (report dated January 2003)