A mission comprising the Attaché from the Development Cooperation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. David Loew and the GIZ Cluster Coordinator Rural Development to the Responsible Fisheries Business Chain Project (RFBCP), Ms. Gina Blaich, on 28th May 2021 visited the LVFO Secretariat in Jinja, Uganda to oversee the progress of implementation of the RFBCP activities. Generally, the mission team was impressed by the progress of implementation of activities implemented by the LVFO especially the hydroacoustic surveys which provide information on the amount of fish stocks in Lake Victoria, and the Electronic Catch Assessment System (E-CAS) developed by the organization to capture data on the amount of fish caught from Lake Victoria. Later, the mission team handed over a brand new vehicle, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado to LVFO in order to assist the organization in implementation of the project activities.
The Executive Secretary of LVFO, Dr. Shigalla Mahongo, thanked the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through GIZ for donating the vehicle and funding the implementation of some of the LVFO’s key mandate activities. He assured them that the vehicle will be used to support project activities and the information generated by hydroacoustic and catch assessment surveys will continue to be used to inform the formation of evidence-based policy and sustainable management of Lake Victoria’s fisheries resources. Later on, the mission team accompanied by Mr. Adolf Gerstl, the RFBCP Project leader and the LVFO Executive Secretary moved to Source of the Nile Hotel, Jinja to hand over awards for the innovative fisheries business competition organized by the RFBCP worth 54 million Ugandan Shillings.
