DAR ES SALAAM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities announced on Friday that they have successfully eradicated blast fishing, also known as dynamite fishing, along the Indian Ocean coastline.
"Blast fishing has been controlled in the Indian Ocean's coastal zone. There have been no incidents of blast fishing reported in the entire zone over the past year," said Ashatu Kijaji, minister of livestock and fisheries, while addressing parliament in the national capital of Dodoma.
Presenting the ministry's budget estimates for the 2025/2026 financial year, Kijaji said the ministry has implemented robust monitoring systems to prevent the recurrence of such illegal practices.
Shed noted that during the 2024/2025 financial year, the ministry continued to strengthen the conservation, protection, and management of fisheries resources in various parts of the country, including Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Nyasa, the Indian Ocean, and the Nyumba ya Mungu and Mtera dams.
As a result of these efforts, authorities seized illegal fishing gear, fishing vessels, and juvenile fish, Kijaji said.
Stressing the fisheries sector as a vital contributor to the national economy, the minister noted that in 2023, the sector contributed 1.7 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and recorded a growth rate of 1.4 percent.
She added that the sector provides employment to approximately 6 million Tanzanians, including direct jobs for about 201,661 fishers and 49,084 aquaculture farmers within the fisheries value chain.
"Additionally, 4,631 Tanzanians are employed in 64 fish processing factories across the country, 56 of which export fish products abroad," said Kijaji.
Blast fishing has severe environmental and social consequences, including the destruction of marine ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and depletion of fish stocks. ■
