Every year, fishermen and conservationists from all over the world come together and engage in a number of fun filled activities and a fishing competition. This year’s event saw hundreds of people gather for the three day long 13th Murchison Falls Invitational Fishing Tournament. The theme of the event was “competition and conservation”.
Among the numerous activities was the catch and release fishing tournament that saw 48 anglers from numerous countries take part. The tournament also welcomed newcomers, the Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers team, who seemed to enjoy every bit of the fun filled game considering that in the past, they had been left to ensuring the safety of the visitors.
The 48 anglers who went fishing on 17 boats battled tsetse flies, huge volumes of water weed on Lake Kyoga that blocked boat propellers, at some point making navigation impossible and the high humidity levels, the major barrier in the quest for the elusive giant Nile perch that lurks in the river’s depth.
Marc Spriestersbach from South Africa emerged victor with a catch of a 75kg Nile perch. He was awarded with a Yamaha DT175 motorbike courtesy of Toyota Uganda. He however, graciously, donated the motorbike to Uwa to assist in their continued struggle and fight to end poaching activities within the park and other game reserves.
In addition, the Shs15m proceeds from the fishing competition were donated to the Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) to help UWA address the very alarming poaching concern.
Speaking at the event, The Sales & Distribution Director of Nile Breweries ltd, who happened to be the main sponsors of the event, Michael Benjamin said his company’s support and contribution to the event is because of their core beliefs in championing sustainable development in the communities.
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