From the Blue Community Environmental Defenders Uganda / DR Congo:
Environmental Defenders Organizes Seminars for DRC Fisher Communities on Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSFs).
Lake Albert, situated at the center of the central African plateau on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is the northernmost of the Great Rift Valley’s chain of lakes and is divided along its major axis between Uganda and the DRC. Measuring 160 km north to south and 35 km wide, it is the most important part of the ecosystem in the Albertine region and vital for local climate regulation. An estimated 10 million of the region’s people depend on Lake Albert fisheries for their livelihoods. The fishery activities, mostly traditional and artisanal, are particular significant in terms of food availability, as fish is the cheapest form of animal protein for the populations of both countries that share the lake. The lake reduces poverty by providing employment in the form of fishing, fish processing, marketing, boat building, and ancillary activities. Of those involved in fishery activities on Lake Albert, women and youth engage mostly in fish processing and marketing, and most fishing is done by youth.
