The fishing community in Siaya is calling on the legislative arm of the government to come up with legislation that will impose heavy penalties on manufacturers and users of outlawed fishing gear in the country’s territorial waters.
According to the fisherfolk, lenient penalties have for years continued to encourage manufacture and use of the illegal gear hence contributing to the declining fish stock especially in Lake Victoria.
They were speaking at Luanda Kotieno in Rarieda sub county during the destruction of illegal fishing gear worth more than Sh2.5 million.
Rarieda Sub County Fisheries Officer, Mark Owino said the illegal undersized net measuring 1.5 inches were confiscated along the fish breeding sites within the Siaya portion of Lake Victoria.
He lamented that despite continuous enforcement operations; illegal fishing gear continues to flood the lake due to non-regulation at the supply chain level.
“We have been burning these nets over and over, but vendors keep selling them,” Owino said adding “we are calling on both the national and county governments to enforce strict regulations prohibiting the manufacture and sale of these small nets at the factory and retail levels.”
He said that the 1.5-inch nets pose a critical threat to Lake Victoria’s ecosystem as they catch fingerlings and destroy breeding stocks.
Addressing the occasion, the fishermen led by Kennedy Ochieng urged authorities to close down businesses that manufacture or sell illegal gear instead of just targeting the fishermen alone.
“It is high time the government targets the shops and factories producing these tiny nets,” said Ochieng.
Fishermen further appealed to the government to reinstate seasonal lake closures previously observed annually between April and August to allow growth of fish populations.
by Philip Onyango
