By Dickens Wasonga.
Lake Victoria which globally supports a rich fisheries resource estimated at 1 million metric tons annually, and a standing stock biomass of 2.12 million metric tons is likely to suffer irreversible ecological damage if urgent action is not taken to improve its environmental management, fisheries experts have warned.
During a meeting held in Kisumu city in Kenya which was attended by a high powered team of fisheries experts drawn from the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization and top ministry officials from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, it emerged that the Lake was facing a myriad of environmental and fishery related threats.
Kenya’s permanent secretary in the ministry of fisheries development Prof. M. Ntiba while making his official speech noted that over the years, Lake Victoria which also supports a fisher population of 196,500 regionally has been plagued with massive water weeds infestation and sporadic toxic algal blooms; uncontrolled influx of pollution and nutrients from the hinterlands.
The PS said increased sedimentation and Lake level changes associated with poor land use and climate change; reduced levels of dissolved oxygen in the water; increased use of illegal fishing gears and methods which results to over exploitation of immature fish were amongst the thorny issues that needs to be addressed urgently by countries benefiting from the Lake.
In an effort to help enhance management of the Lake environment and its living resources, Kenya’s ministry of fisheries development on Friday launched a Vessel worth Ksh.57m which will now be used by scientists drawn from Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute KMFRI to provide necessary research and monitoring support.
It is the mandate of KMFRI to undertake research in all spheres of fisheries, acquaculture, aquatic ecology and environmental monitoring. It also provides scientific data and information,new and adoptive technologies and innovations for the sustainable exploitation, management and conservation of fisheries resources and aquatic environment.
On the larger scale the research out put from KMFRI should support the national development strategies and programs on achieving food security ,reduced poverty levels and increased job opportunities for Kenyans.
The new Vessel will be a crucial tool for KMFRI to undertake research and monitor all fisheries and environmental parameters on the world’s second largest fresh water lake.
The funds to buy the Vessel-MV UVUMBUZI- A kiswahili word which means discovery, was provided by the European Union which is also supporting the Lake Victoria Fisheries Implementation Plan and the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization.
It is a specialized research vessel set to revolutionize the way research has been conducted on Lake Victoria which also generates a substantial income to the region in terms of export of fish to different international markets.
THe IFMP project which is ending this year was targeting to boost the capacity of both human resource and infrastructure and will remain a clear land mark of development in the Lake Basin,in particular , in supporting fisheries research and development agenda for Lake Victoria in Kenya and her two sister states of Uganda and Tanzania.
According to the Kenya’s minister for fisheries development Dr. Paul Otuoma, several fish processing plants have been forced to close down due to dwindling fish stocks in the Lake.
He said as a result many Kenyans especially those living along the shores of Lake Victoria have been rendered jobless. He said the trend was now worrying the government which was losing a substantial amounts of money from the fisheries.