Fish Health Management in Uganda. From Soft Laws to Practical Implementation

Abstract

Fish farming is becoming an increasingly important part of the food supply for the growing world population. Uganda is one of the countries in Africa where fish farming is on the rise, largely dominated by Nile tilapia and North Africa Catfish. With abundant water resources, an ideal climate and a market demand for fish, the conditions for development of the fish farming sector are in place. In this study, a literature and media review has been combined with three expert interviews, aiming to answer the following: 1) what is the current status of fish health management in Uganda, and 2) what biosecurity related factor(s) can be regarded most important to support a continued growth in the sector? Overall, the findings from the study suggests that fish health management and biosecurity still is in its infancy in Uganda. Results also indicated that securing the upstream part of production may be a cost-efficient approach to improve biosecurity at the time being. Maintaining disease free brood stocks and health certification of seed producers may contribute to decrease the general risk of diseases throughout the sector.