Beach Village Committees in Mangochi District have been actively confiscating illegal fishing nets and educating fishermen on fishing sustainably.
Seven patrols were carried out recently with the support of the District Fisheries Department and 38 monofilament nets were confiscated which totalled 7,500 metres in length. Monofilament nets have been illegal in Malawi for a number of years but some fishers are still using them.
By teaching fishermen to use the correct fishing nets, we can ensure that they catch the right sized fish and allow smaller baby fish to grow and go on to breed.
We started working in Mangochi in 2022 and this district poses some different challenges to others in which we are working – mainly a lot more fishermen and more trawlers.