Concerns Rise Over Mysterious Fish Deaths Along the River Nile in Oyam District

Ojara Daniel
2 Min Read
Immature fish

The current mysterious death of fish at Atura landing side and Nora landing side along the River Nile in Oyam district is causing concern among fishermen, affecting their business.

Last Thursday, a continuous occurrence of fish deaths in the River Nile, including Nile Perch Fish and Tilapia Fish, began and continues to date. No one knows the cause of the deaths. Despite the uncertainty, fishermen are taking the opportunity to easily collect the dead fish for selling in towns like Kamdini, Loro, and Karuma at lower prices.




Alex Okello, a fisherman at Nora landing side in Kamdini sub-county, confirmed the reports. He mentioned that they are not earning as much as before because the current situation has forced them to sell fish at reduced prices. For instance, a fish that he used to sell at 20,000/= is now sold at 10,000/=, and a fish that was sold at 25,000/= is now priced at 15,000/=. This downturn is significantly impacting their business.




However, Dr. David Bua, the district fisheries officer of Oyam district, also confirmed the reports. He mentioned that yesterday he sent a team of fisheries experts from Aber sub-county to the landing side for inspection and to collect samples of the dead fish.




He explained that fish deaths usually occur when there is heavy rainfall, causing a lot of debris to be swept from the lake into the River Nile. This debris affects the respiratory system of certain fish, particularly those adapted to clean water like Nile Perch and Tilapia. Breathing becomes a problem, leading to high mortality. However, this phenomenon does not affect Mud and Catfish because their gills are adapted to living in dirty water.

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