Bukoba, Tanzania - The boats of the tiny dagaa fishermen (silver cyprinids) have been moored on the main landing beach following a night of storm. On the lookout for the least fish forgotten by women, traditionally in charge of drying and selling fishing they buy from men, white egrets land on the railings and fly over the boats. Off the coast, the island of Musira which was a prison at the time of pre-colonial royalties.
Nkumba Bukolwa Site, Katabi City, Wakiso District, Uganda - In a dump in a wetland area of the lake, a man is cleaning plastic bags recovered from the rubbish hills to sell them. The dye of the blue bags originally mixes with the water naturally present in the swamp. As the days go by, he will pass into the lake. Traditionally, wetlands act as a filter, purifying runoff from rains, and then discharging them into the lake. By settling in the wetland for economic reasons, forgotten Ugandan farmers destroy the filter and contribute to pollution. The dilemma is cruel: providing for the family or protecting the lake.
Masese District, Jinja, Uganda - From a transport boat, miners throw shovels of sand into the wheelbarrows that their colleagues are struggling to balance on a jagged wooden pier. The sand was harvested by this team on the island of Namugongo, 12 hours by boat off the coast, by digging the banks and shoveling the lowlands. Environmentalists point out that this illegal practice threatens the existence of the lake by destroying the ecosystem and biodiversity. Every day, on several landing sites in the country, such boats bring sand for construction. This illegal trade is paying off because of the high demand. A sand truck sells in Kampala for 330,000 Ugandan shillings (75€ - The average salary in Uganda is 250,000 shillings). To continue their activity unhindered, the miners reserve a portion of their cargo to the "important people", those responsible for controlling landing points.
Entebbe, Uganda - Pastor Moses Bogere of the Stillwater Seven-day Adventist Church baptizes a parishioner by totally immersing her in the lake after Saturday's religious service. His assistants surround him holding the towels that protect the face and the green fabric with which the baptized is covered, symbolizing his access to the new purity. "Lake Victoria is a grave for us, the faithful Adventists. It is there that we are forever rid of our sins by drowning them. We return to the new shore, washed of our faults, "says a faithful.
Murchison Bay, Kampala, Uganda - At a stone's throw from the Ugandan capital, an illegal fisherman refloat his boat, which he hides under trees all day long, in water made opaque by seaweed. Mixed patrols composed of soldiers and fishermen regularly pass nearby without having yet detected his little scheme. He is about to go fishing with a colleague along the shore with a small mesh net prohibited because it allows to catch fish smaller than allowed by law. On his return, he will sink his boat again.
Jinja, Uganda - A worker cuts a Nile perch head at the Mugongo wazi (“open spine” in Swahili) site, near a lake's wetland. Once salted and dried, the head, the backbone and the still fixed flesh will be packaged and transported to the Democratic Republic of Congo, 560 km away. In the east of this almost landlocked country are the customers of the leftover of these fishes. Jackson, the businessman, boss of "the company" (the group has around 30 workers) buys his raw material from the processing plants in Jinja, which filet perch to export to Europe.
Naluwerere village, Bugiri District, Uganda - A Ugandan fisherman is buried in his hometown near the Kenyan border. He was working in Jinja 120 kilometers away and was part of the fishermen group working with the army to identify and arrest illegal fishermen in the act. He was poisoned by some fishermen while he shared a friendly moment in a bar. "It is likely that some of the murderers are in the crowd which came to pay him a last tribute," says one of his friends, still engaged in the fight against illegal fishing.
Kisumu, Kenya - At 5 a.m., the wind changes direction at Dunga Beach, finally opening a passage to the boats by pushing off the water hyacinths. A fisherman takes the opportunity of the windfall to wade his way offshore, pushing with energy on his pole. The fishing day begins. In the evening, the hyacinths will come back, blocking access to the shore for hundreds of meters. This floating aquatic weed is so thick that boats fail to cross the surface it occupies. According to Dr. Christopher Aura, deputy director of Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute in Kisumu, in January 2018, about 10,360 hectares of the lake were covered by hyacinth, to cover 17,000 hectares a year later. "Increasing temperature of the water up to 28°C promotes the growth of the weed".
Asembo Bay, Kenya - A group of women and men glean water hyacinths for use as fertilizer in Dala Rieko (“the house of knowledge” in the Luolo language). This project is designed to teach women, traditionally in charge of farming, how to turn the curse of water hyacinths into a blessing. That morning, a crocodile was seen prowling around. The harvest must be done quickly.
Homa bay, Kenya - Lake Victoria begins behind the line of shrubs, 30 meters away. The wetland near the pier is littered with wastes brought by the rains and runoff water from the city. Once the water is absorbed by the swamp or passed through the Winam Golf that faces the city of Homa Bay, only garbage remains. Eventually, they will pass in Victoria.