Mozambique: At least 5 vehicles seized in Mágoè National Park this year carrying fish below the minimum landing size

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Mozambique: At least 5 vehicles seized in Mágoè National Park this year carrying fish below the minimum landing size

3:00 CAT | 21 Jul 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only .Located close to the border with Zimbabwe, in the Province of Tete, the Máguè National Park was established in 2013. It’s most emblematic species is the roan antelope, but the Park also hosts other large animals, such as elephants, hippopotami, lions and other feline species. It’s location, in the shores of the Zambeze river, along the Cahora-Bassa dam reservoir, allows the visitor to enjoy its river bank landscapes. [File photo: Biofund]

At least five vehicles containing under-sized fish have been seized in Mágoè National Park, Tete province, since January.

Conservation area administrator Juliana Mwitu told Rádio Moçambique that the fall in water levels in the Cahora Bassa reservoir, combined with the use of harmful fishing gear, was likely to decrease the fish population.

Mwitu said that the intensity of fishing activity in the reservoir has contributed to a reduction in fish catches in recent years.

“This has gotten worse with the water issue. The water is gone, so nowadays there’s no ‘pende’ (tilapia). There’s a ‘pendinho’ (little tilapia), and here in Tete, you eat ‘pendinho’. In fact, today I apprehended a truck full of ‘pendinho’. What we want to teach is that the ‘pendinho’ isn’t for the Park. I’m saying, don’t fish for the ‘pendinho’ because it’s what will generate the fish for you to keep fishing,” Mwitu said.

Catching fish below the minimum landing size (MLS) is generally prohibited to protect fish populations and ensure their sustainable harvesting. MLS is the smallest size a fish can be to be legally retained, and it varies by species and region. Catching and keeping fish below the MLS can negatively impact fish populations by preventing them from reaching reproductive maturity and reducing the overall stock size.

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