Lake Victoria is one of the most important fish water resources that accounts for nearly half of the Kenya’s total fish production.
However, the water hyacinth dogging the fresh water lake has now turned out to be one of the biggest problems the lake has faced in recent years, a menace that has not only robbed the livelihood of fishermen but also polluted the lake waters.
At Luanda Konyango Beach in North Kadem Ward-Nyatike Sub County of Migori County, the hyacinth effects have elicited heart-rending anecdotes about economic nosedives in livelihoods of the local fishing community, which largely depends on the fishing industry.
Fishing is the major activity on the small beach of Luanda Konyango, but the ever-spreading hyacinth menace that rapidly reproduces and spreads has already taken away three-quarters of the Beach.
The once vibrant market beach no longer attracts customers and traders who used to flock to the beach in search of Nile perch, Tilapia, Mud fish and sardines commonly referred to as Omena.
The hyacinth has also blocked the accessibility of the beach and the main lake and rendered the beach water unusable for both human and animal consumption due to high pollution.
The hyacinth effect has also destroyed fishing equipment, drastically reduced fish catch as well as inhabiting dangerous sea animals and reptiles like hippos and the highly poisonous snakes.
Nelson Onyango, a local fisherman from Luanda Konyango Beach says that the hyacinth has blocked accessibility of the landing site.
This has forced fishermen to waste hours meandering through the 300 meters stretch to access the lake.
Onyango avers that during the windy days, the strong air stream and waves pushes their boats to the thick water vegetation of hyacinth and papyrus weeds, exposing them to the dangers of drowning as well as to the risks of being killed by the merciless sea creatures that hide beneath the densely populated vegetation cover.
“Sometimes we get stuck on the hyacinth plantation for hours because of poor visibility both from the landing site and the main lake,” said Onyango, during a brief interview with KNA.
He said the reduced landing sites as a result of the water hyacinth has led to a reduction of the beach space, leading to a massive congestion of boats and that has made landing at any of the few operating beaches very unsafe to the fishermen.
The fisherman noted that the waters that the surrounding community largely depends on have also been polluted and the local population no longer have clean water for both human and animal consumption.
He said the destruction of the fishing nets and boat engines by the mobile hyacinth weed and which are both precious tools used in the fishing industry is the biggest loss that fishermen have to contend with.
Onyango explained that the boat engine propellers that get damaged in the highly infected hyacinth waters have generated unnecessary expenses that eat on their hard earned savings.
Alice Adhiambo, a fish monger at Luanda Konyango Beach bemoans that in the last five years, fish caught has been diminishing as a result of water hyacinth.
“We used to catch very big fish five years ago, when the beach was clear of any weeds, but the effects of hyacinth have worsened the situation in terms of fishing hunting,” said Adhiambo.
According to her, the once vibrant market beach no longer attracts customers and traders who lament that the catch is too small making it economically unviable to travel all the way 50 kilometers from Migori town.
Adhiambo said the menace has also denied the residents of Luanda Konyango clean and safer drinking water forcing them to purchase water from water points at a fee, further, denying them the little profits they collect from the lake.
However, Adhiambo said that the beach management units together with the local residents have taken an initiative to remove some of the water hyacinths to prevent further encroachment.
“The uprooting of the water hyacinth is not an easy task as it is time-consuming, resource wasteful and a disposal challenge,” she said.
“We decided to uproot some of the water hyacinths that is encroaching the narrow bearth that we used to meander through to the lake as well as those that are growing near the landing site to ensure that our livelihood is protected,” said Adhiambo.
The residents are now calling upon both the county and national government to step in and aid in cleaning the lake, noting that the presence of water hyacinth was detrimental to the fishing industry in the county.
Migori County Government has committed itself to helping the Luanda Konyango fishing industry restore the lost glory of the beach.
According to Migori Governor Dr. Ochilo Ayacko, the county was encouraging all willing partners to come on board to deliberate on issues of water hyacinth, papyrus weed and siltation in the beaches, with a view to coming up with a lasting solution to restore water sanity.
Ayacko however, disclosed that agriculture and fisheries were devolved functions, but yet low funding was still a major challenge in realizing the blue economic agenda.
He added that already the county had introduced fish cage farming at Luanda Konyango to ensure that the local residents continue to earn a decent living from the fishing industry.
“The county has also introduced two more fish cages at Muhuru Bay and Sori to help the fishermen in the county,” Ayacko said.
He promised to safeguard the safety of fishermen and the fishing industry in the 27 beaches spread along the coastline of Nyatike Sub County, which are rich in fish varieties including the Nile perch, Tilapia, Mud fish and sardines.
“As the country moves closes towards Vision 2030, The Blue Economy potential of improved modern fish farming like fish caging, water sports and water-based tourism will only be achieved if water quality can be realized and one way to battle this is to ensure the lake was free from water menaces like hyacinth and siltation,” said the Governor.
By Geoffrey Makokha and George Agimba
