The third edition of Jinja E-Fish Festival was a success.
The fun-filled event that happened on Sunday 14, brought together over 200 invited guests, while the rest of Ugandans watched the festival online and were able to order fish from different restaurants.
The Fish Festival happens annually as part of the activities of World Fisheries Day celebrations.
Fish lovers were able to celebrate, learn more about sustainable fisheries with a variety of delicious fish menu. They were also treated to all kinds of fish dishes.
State Minister for Fisheries Hellen Adoa was among the key figures who attended the festival.
Addressing revellers during the event, Hon Adoa called on Ugandans to practice and promote sustainable fisheries if the future generation is to benefit from lakes.
“We are celebrating these local small-scale fishers; we need to give attention to them especially this poor woman who looks at the lake as the only source of livelihood. She has no garden, nothing to take her children to school with. When she sells this small fish it is what helps her survive, take her children to school, especially now after Covid-19,” she said.
Team Leader GIZ Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project Adolf Gerstl noted that the fish festival is used to create awareness about the fisheries sector and promote sustainable fisheries, giving all key players in the sector room to exhibit and express their views while explaining their work to Ugandans.
Mr. Gerstil pledged that they will continue with efforts to promote sustainable Fisheries and bring more stakeholders on board to promote the initiative.
Joyce Ikwaput Nyeko Ag. Director Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources also noted that the World Fisheries Day was created and spearheaded by fishermen themselves, working together with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in order to recognize the importance and contribution of fisheries not only to the economies of countries but to the employment and livelihood of the many people that are employed in the sector.
Organisations that made the festival possible include; GIZ – Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project (RFBCP) with funding support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) together with: Directorate of Fisheries Resources (DFiR), Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization(LVFO), Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association (UFPEA), Federation of Fisheries Organizations of Uganda (FFOU), Katosi Women Development Trust (KWDT), Makerere University Department of Zoology, Entomology and Fisheries Science, Fisheries Training Institute(FTI), National Fisheries Resource Research Institute( NAFIRRI), Sustainable Fisheries Initiative (SFI), Association of Fishers and Lake Users of Uganda (AFALU) and Uganda Fisheries and Fish Conservation Association (UFFCA).
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