The State Minister for Fisheries, Hon. Robert Migadde Ndugwa, has assured stakeholders that fresh regulations governing the fisheries subsector will be enacted soon, pledging to tackle persistent challenges including overfishing, illegal gear, and habitat degradation while modernising Uganda's fishing industry, a vital economic lifeline especially around Lake Victoria.

The upcoming rules are expected to strengthen licensing, gear restrictions, catch limits, and ecosystem safeguards. The lake, shared with Kenya and Tanzania, supports hundreds of thousands of livelihoods through fishing, but faces severe pressure from pollution, siltation, invasive species, and shoreline encroachment — exemplified by NEMA's ongoing demolition of an illegal perimeter wall at Ddungu Resort Beach.

President Museveni has repeatedly emphasised environmental protection as essential for survival, directing encroachers on wetlands and buffer zones to vacate peacefully. However, implementation has often involved force, disproportionately affecting small-scale fishers, farmers, and lakeside communities who claim they are chased away while larger resorts or developers sometimes secure approvals or delay compliance.

Well-designed fisheries and lakeshore rules could promote sustainable yields and reduce habitat destruction, but without equitable transition measures — alternative livelihoods, compensation, or secure relocation — regulations risk further marginalising vulnerable groups already displaced by demolitions. For success, regulations must deliver both environmental gains and social fairness. King Musah Media will track the regulatory rollout and its on-the-ground effects.