Writes Leo Odera Omolo in Kisumu City.
FISH stocks in Lake Victoria have reduced so much to a near depletion, according to the latest research finding.
Dr Juma Jembe a researcher working with the Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute has disclosed that statistics of fish stocks in the Nyanza Gulf areas of Lake Victoria is causing a lot of anxiety and worries to scientists.
“The Gulf a stretch of about 60 kilometers, and there is hardly any fish,” said Dr. Jembe, adding that the availability of the economically and commercially important Nile Perch was as low as 1,2 kg per hectare.
The worst affected places are fish landing sites in Kisumu,Siaya and Homa-Bay with some areas in Kisumu region hardly having any fish left in the water. aerial Satellite pictures show the Gulf stretch having a thick green layer.
However, many sections of Tanzania and Uganda have blue clean water. A team of journalist from the Nairobi daily, THE STANDARD, visited Dunga Beach which is located in the outskirt of the Kisumu City, a fish landing beach which has close to 500 fishermen, most of who were reported to be forlom, with their catches being at the lowest in the history of their fishing activity.
Dr Jembe was later quoted by the STANDARD as having attributed the worsening pollution of the lake, especially in the Nyanza Gulf {formerly Kavirondo Gulf} has made it not conducive for fish. Poor farming methods in the water catchment areas has also resulted in nitrates and phosphates in the water.
“The fish move towards areas such as Mbita, where the water is less polluted. This has forced those in the affected to catch even immature fish,” said the scientist.
He went on, ”There is a lot of domestic and industrial effluence in the lake from Kisumu and Homa-Bay.Effluence from sugarcane factories provides nutrients for the obnoxious water hyacinth.
“The weed takes up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide which does not support the existence of fish,’ the researcher said.
Hyacinth has been a major impediment to the survival of fish,” Dr Jember said, adding that “the wind often blows towards many areas of the Nyanza Gulf and thus moves the weeds such as Migori to the Gulf.”
The researcher, however, was silent over the recent alarming claims that some unscrupulous are killing millions of fish through the use of chemicals for easy catches.
Fears persist in all the three countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which shared the Lake Victoria waters that marketing fish, especially for exports into developed countries markets such to the EU nations, Middle East, Japan, Israel and the United States would experience difficulties after the word spreads to those countries about the chemical fishing.
Chemicals kills immature fish, destroys the fish breeding grounds, and could prove to be health hazards to the consumers.
Fishing industry and fish trades supports close to 10 million people who lives around the shorelines of the world second largest sweet water mass
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