Sport Fishing in Rwanda isn’t a very popular thing to do, and this is mostly because Rwanda isn’t well-known as a place to go fishing. Lake Kivu, Lake Muhazi, and Lake Mugesera are all places in Rwanda where people can fish for a living. Aside from these big fishing spots, there are also smaller rivers and lakes where locals fish for food and where foreign visitors sometimes come to fish. 45% of all the fish in Rwanda comes from the aquaculture business.
Most of the fish ingested in Rwanda is imported from the neighboring Uganda and Tanzania. The most common ways to fish in Rwanda are with a hook, gill nets, spears, lampara method, a scoop net, or just throwing out the net and hoping for the best. The different types of fish in Rwandan waters decide how they are caught. Some of these fish are Tanganyika sardine, Barbus, amphilius, Nile Tilapia, Cyprinus, Cynodontids, Mormyrus, and Varicorthinus, just to name a few.
The fishing safari in Rwanda is done on the canoes and the local people will be frequently observed using the wooden canoes on the waters of Rwanda. Rwanda’s Ministry of Animal Resources and Agriculture runs the fishing business through cooperatives and local government. The way people fish may still be a little old-fashioned and needs to be changed. Rwanda’s tourist industry, on the other hand, is doing better than ever and is a real success, so making fishing a part of it is a great safari activity. It may be a win as the tourism industry can also gain from the fishing industry. Here are a few spots that focus on sport fishing as a tourism activity.
Akagera national park.
For travelers who are interested in taking part in sport fishing safari can look at visiting the Akagera national park. Akagera national park is the wildlife park of Rwanda and provides mainly game drives and a boat cruise on the Lake Ihema though you may opt for participating in a fishing safari experience. The Akagera national park got its name after Kagera River and this is the river that feeds the Lake Shakani and the Lake Ihema.
People say that Lake Ihema and Lake Shakani are the best safari destinations to go sport fishing safari in Rwanda, and the range of fish in these lakes backs this up. The Lake Ihema is renowned for its hippo’s levels and also being a home to the crocodiles and some water birds.
You might be worried about how safe it is to fish with animals around, but the fishing spots have been carefully chosen in parts of the lake where animals don’t live. If you go fishing safari for fun and catch some fish, you can have one of them cooked up for you later.
You will nevertheless need to have a fishing license to participate in part of this safari activity and this can be booked through the Akagera national park authorities and you will also have to carry your own fishing equipment or hire some ahead of arrival to the Lake. The most common way to fish here is with a hook, and the most common fish caught is the Tilapia.
Lake Kivu.
Lake Kivu is another popular tourist spot. It is west of Rwanda and on the land border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Lake Kivu is Africa’s sixth-biggest lake, and there are no hippos or crocodiles to scare people away. The Lake Kivu has however been polluted with methane and carbon dioxide, an after effect of volcanic activity in the region.
This methane is being taken out, which is bringing life back to the lake. The most common fish are sambaza, sardines, and ndugu, all of which are small and can be caught by hand or with nets. On Lake Kivu, fishing boats and fishermen are much more popular, and if you want the perfect safari experience, you can join them for unforgettable safari memories.
