By Okong’o Oduya
Fishermen along Lake Victoria on the Kenyan side have been blamed for being behind the extinction of fish in the lake as a result of the poor fishing methods they use.
In a one day workshop organized by department of fisheries, in Budalangi-Busia County it was realized that fishermen use poor fishing gears that have contributed to the reduction in the number of fish on the Kenyan side.
According to the fisheries department officers, led by Mr. Shadrack Kimani, the department had done what it can to stop the habit of poor fishing methods by sensitizing the fishermen on the consequences that come with under-size fishing but it has never been fruitful.
He says their efforts as a department have been encountered with hostility since most of the fishing activities take place at night in the absence of the officers to watch on them and as a result, they trawl young fish that has led in the decrease in fish population in the lake.
Mr. Kimani accused all stakeholders in the sector for failing to come out clearly and address the problem urging that the community of fishermen and area leaders should have come together in addressing the problem, the defiant fishermen would realize the negative impact they create on the lake.
He says some fishermen cast their nets in the prohibited zones such as breeding zones which according to him is now the worst of all mistakes some of the fishermen commit while in their daily duties.
“All stakeholders in the fish sector need to accept that there is a big problem, instead of blaming each other. We need to sit down and agree how to save this lake, it is the only resources we have and if it is extinct our future generation will suffer” he said
He further said as a department they have enforced the law on saving the lake but it is not fruitful, they have arrested all law defiant and burnt down unauthorized fishing gears but nothing is forthcoming and he believes there is a need to adopt a different strategy in addressing the problem.
His sentiments were echoed by the Chairman of Save the Fish along the lake, Joseph Odongo elucidated that their counterparts in Uganda have adhered fully to the laws set by their state but here in Kenya little has been done in realizing the same.
“There is a need for fishermen in Kenya to adhere to proper fishing methods. Fish in the lake has declined to almost 75% and the cause is poor fishing methods. Going for young fish won’t give us the returns we expect. We must desist from poor fishing habits,” said Odongo
He says that as fishermen they are now forced to cross to Ugandan waters where they meet the wrath of Uganda security officers, in what he attributed to the bad fishing habit they have always practiced back at home.
“We have been arrested in Uganda by security officers on a number of occasions and this is because of our bad fishing traditions. If we take care of our waters and fish we won’t require crossing to Uganda in search of fish, we will be fishing around here, but since we have destroyed our fish we have to cross over, giving room for the arrest.so we are to blame ourselves,” he said
Elsewhere women who venture into the lake in search of firewood are calling upon the county government of Busia to open waterways for them for easy sailing.
Talking on behalf of the women Julith Mudanyi Khasena said their daily activity in search of woods in the lake is not easy since the water hyacinth has blocked their way to and from the lake. They are calling on county government to open the routes adding that they are forced to row 3 Km for more than one hour to reach the mainland.
“The water-ways within the lake are so narrow and are in many cases is blocked by the hyacinth weed. At some point, we try to clear the routes but after 2 or 3 days they reoccupy their original position making it hard to sail to the lake,”
