Homa Bay County Department of Fisheries celebrated ‘World Fisheries Day’ with this year’s theme, ‘Investing in social protection to secure equitable blue transformation in the fisheries sector’.
The Assistant Director for Fisheries Michael Omondi said that in line with the theme, they are trying to find ways of ensuring that in the fisheries sector and the blue economy, all players and partners have equitable distribution of resources.
Omondi who is also the County Programme Coordinator for Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP) said that as a county, they opted to celebrate this day by showcasing all the key players in the blue economy through exhibitions to show how the distribution can be done fairly without leaving behind the youths and women.
“Youths are assisting in input supplies and infrastructure to assist in the value chain, hence they cannot be left behind,” said Omondi.
In the exhibitions, the department brought on board a nutritionist as an alternative way of showing the importance of women in the blue economy, as they might not literally get involved in the fishing exercise.
“As much as women might not be able to go fishing, they can invest in bringing various value added products which can be sold so that they also reap in the products which come from the blue economy,” Omondi stated.
The ABDP coordinator reiterated that the fish firms in the county have been playing vital roles in the development of the blue economy in the region.
He lauded Muga Fish Firm and Victory Firms, who sell fish feeds and fingerlings for their contribution in the community, saying that the latter has further offered to mentor cage farmers on the best practices to control death of fish in cages as seen recently.
“In their Corporate Social Responsibility, Victory Firms offered to mentor cage farmers as a way of curbing the recent death of fish in Lake Vicoria,” said Omondi.
Homa Bay Town Sub County Assistant County Commissioner Henry Kereya on his part urged all the stakeholders to adhere to the rules and regulations put in place by the Kenya Fisheries Service (KFS) to improve food security in the region via the sector.
Kereya however, warned them against the illegal fishing activities which has been hindering the exercise in various beaches along Lake Victoria.
“The fisheries department is one of the greatest contributors of our country’s GDP, and so we must follow the regulations set by KFS to provide a conducive environment for the activities,” said Kereya.
By Brian Odhiambo and Sitna Omar
