Video credit: Jean Marie Manirambona (Burundi)
Review: Jean Marie Manirambona and Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the video channel)
Burundi’s fish catch comes almost entirely from the share of Burundi in Lake Tanganyika whose waters are shared by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia. The lake is the second largest lake in Africa, and also the second deepest lake in the world with a mean depth of 570 m, reaching around 1,500 meters in the south. Moreover, Lake Tanganyika is considered a wildlife treasure for its unique and indigenous aquatic species of fish, snails, crabs, shrimps, sponges, and many other organisms.
The fisheries adjacent to human settlements are associated with high population densities, and are under heavy fishing pressure from a range of fishing gears. There are indications not only of reduced catches, but also on changes in catch composition. According to available statistics, the fish catch from Lake Tanganyika in Burundi has declined from about 17,000 tons in 2000 to 12,000 tons in 2011.
With the aim to restore the lake sustainable catch, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock through its Department of Water of Fishing and Aquaculture has initiated a project in 2012 to protect the breeding grounds of the fish in Lake Tanganyika. The video focuses on the protection of fish breeding grounds on Lake Tanganyika in Burundi.
