The organizers of the of the highly anticipated Jinja Fish Festival have revealed that during the event revelers will celebrate, learn more about sustainable fisheries with a variety of delicious fish menu.
This was revealed during a press conference on Friday in Jinja.
With support from GIZ – Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project, the 2nd edition of the festival is slated for this Sunday December 1, 2019 at Forever Resort Jinja.
The fest will run under the theme, “celebrating sustainable fisheries”.
“The festival is a chance not only to try some delicious fish but also to learn more about the resource. The public will have an opportunity to explore which fish comes from Lake Victoria including the popular Nile perch which is currently the fish fetching the highest foreign exchange towards Uganda’s economy. Besides that, the ways fish is prepared seem endless, get inspired for your own kitchen at home and try something new at the festival,” said Moses Bakora, one of the organizers of the event.
Bakora further revealed that the festival aims at among others promoting knowledge exchange through networking, offering a platform where blue innovations and research findings can be shared to allow the business communities exploit the available opportunities and offering platform where sustainable Nile Perch Fisheries management and its implementation can be explained and promoted.
“With all the preparations set, key stakeholders in the sector are set to showcase the fishery technology, cage cultures, value addition and share a lot more information about the sector including but not limited to policy issues, export markets and potential opportunities for investment,” he said.
Adding, “Other parallel activities will also be happening at the event. We shall have sustainable fisheries awareness quiz competitions, Sustainable Fisheries awareness Music Dance and Drama and Art competitions where the schools will be winning a lot of awards, Sustainable Fisheries Photo shoot competitions where the general public can participate and take photos either with their phones or cameras and the winners will walk away with amazing prizes, children are well catered for with a well-equipped play area.”
The team leader of GIZ the Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project Adi Gerstil disclosed that the fish festival is not only an opportunity for the general public to learn about sustainable fisheries but also brings together key stakeholders in the fishery to deliberate on the fishery and share what each is working on.
On her part, the representative of Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization also a key stakeholders at the National Organizing Committee Dr Rhodah said during the festival the public will be able to learn about the policies and guidelines for the sector for example the acceptable fishing gears, the size of fish ie 50cm for Nile perch among other things.
On the other hand, revelers will also be entertained by a number of artistes led by Rema Namakula.
Entrance fee is only Shs5,000 for adults, free for children and gates will be open at 09:00am.
The Festival has been organized by Perfect Events with funding support from the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through GIZ – Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project (RFBCP) together with the organizing partners Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO), Directorate of Fisheries Resources (DiFR),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, National Fisheries Resource Research Institute( NAFIRRI)-NARO, Association of Fisheries and Lake Users of Uganda (AFALU) and Uganda Fisheries and Fish Conservation Association (UFFCA).
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