We should be part of Blue Economy discussion-L. Victoria Fishermen

Migori County is one of the Nyanza region counties whose part of economic mainstay relies on Lake Victoria.
Fishermen in Mihuru Sori along Lake Victoria harvest fish to be supplied in Migori town and other county markets and part of it sold outside the county.
Residents of Migori just like other surrounding Nyanza Counties are yet to fully exploit the use of Lake Victoria Waters if the yet to be launched Blue Economy is well implemented.
Fish bedrock Markets at the shore of Lake Victoria in Migori County remain disorganized, undeveloped and poverty seems to be the order of the day.
International Blue Economy conference in Nairobi should address key issues affecting people living in these markets.
The key issues here include making fishing at the lake profitable to the fishermen and the locals.
Making fishing profitable will address poverty levels which are extremely high. The conference should give out workable solutions on how to develop these remote towns so that they become safe for local and international tourists.
The conference should develop policies which guide keeping the waters clean to attract safe swimming at the shores.
Guidelines on proper fishing methods should also be promoted.
Residents and fishermen close to Lake Victoria for the last 20 years have been struggling on how to manage the spread of hyacinth weed.
Hyacinth plant spreads very fast and it is a great impediment to fishing at the lake. Boats movement at the beaches is also hampered by the fast spreading weeds.
The fishermen at the Lake were quick to ask for immediate intervention against hyacinth at the lake to be raised to the International Blue Economy Conference to be held in Nairobi next week.
Fishermen have blamed hyacinth for the problems affecting them at the lake. They now want the proponents of the Blue Economy to assist Lake Victoria Counties to tackle hyacinth menace which has reduced fishing grounds to a worrying level.
They want proponents of Blue Economy to work closely with the county governments with the aim of making fishing profitable and sustainable.
Since 2013 when County Governments began to function the demand for fish in Migori County has been on the rise.
This can be attributed to upsurge number of hotels in the county and the ballooning consumers of rare delicacy.
Before 2013 the number of two star hotels in Migori were only 6 but shot drastically to 25 by 2018.
Since the County is attributed to fish, almost all visitors camping in the town ask for this rare fish delicacy due to its proximity to the lake.
The residents believe that if the fishing at the lake is well managed and reintroduction of fish ponds in designated parts of the county is done, it will create jobs for the youth and more development will be realised at the lake region.
At the moment the county has complete fish processing plant constructed by the government in Rongo Sub County.
Migori County executive for Agriculture Valentine Ogongo says the plant has a capacity to process six tons of fish per day. However, the county hardly produces one tonne of fish per day.
He says the locals heavily depends on fishing at the lake which at times is associated with poor fishing habits for instance the use of prohibited fishing gears and fishing around restricted fish hatching waters.
Ogongo says the process to boost fish farming in the county through re-introduction of fish ponds to the farmers has been factored in the budget.
He says crackdown on the use of poor fishing methods has been ongoing.
However the officials of Muhuru and Sori Beach Management Units at shores of Lake Victoria complained of perpetual harassment by foreigners.
They said that disputed Island of Migingo was among many challenges posing threat to Kenyan fishermen at the lake.
The beach officials now want the International Blue Economy stakeholders to address issues related to Migingo Island dispute as some factors hindering development among the affected communities.
“It is an issue that should not be ignored; the leaders should talk about the dispute so that a lasting solution can be reached,” Bamrich Omondi Sori Beach Management unit said.
The International Blue Economy Conference to be attended by high level world leaders is an opportunity for the Kenyan people to start benefiting from untapped Blue Economy sector.
Apart from the Indian Ocean waters it should be noted that Kenya have other water bodies like Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana which should form part of the discussion in Blue Economy Conference.
By Geoffrey Satia