Fishermen have bemoaned the scarcity of Fish in the Lake, a misfortune that has come amidst, also leading to, price increase of the fish.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday at the start of a two-day forum on the ‘Role of Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM)’, Director of Animal Health and Livestock Development in the Ministry of Agriculture, Patrick Chikungwa stated that there was a decline in fish, also confirmed by Department of Fisheries director Friday Njaya.

According to Njaya, government has instituted several measures to review fishing regulations and enhance fish quality through the adoption of better fish processing facilities such as solar rent driers. Meanwhile, markets in Blantyre shows that a five-litre bucket of usipa and utaka is selling at K6 000 from K4 000 two months ago, representing a 50% increase. On the other hand, a kilogram of chambo now costs K3 500 from and an average of K2 500.