Water hyacinth chokes lake, hurts fishing

The return of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria is likely to hurt Homa Bay county economy.

At least 30 beaches have been affected for almost two months.
Speaking to the Star on Wednesday, county beach manager Edward Oremo said 15,000 fishermen and transporters have been rendered jobless.

He said boats cannot operate in Mbita, Homa Bay town, Rangwe and Karachuonyo constituencies.

“Our people who depend on this lake have been affected economically since the weed returned. Fishing and transport activities have totally been paralysed,” Oremo said.

He urged the national and Homa Bay governments to offer a quick solution.

“We appeal for a fund to help us get rid of this dangerous weed. Our youth are ready to remove the weed manually as we still wait for the biological and mechanical way of dealing with it as proposed by the state,” Oremo said.

Fisherman Maxwel Onyango said life has become unbearable for them since the weed reemerged.
“Water hyacinth is a dangerous weed since it does not allow any boat movement until it moves to another place, but this may take long,” he said.

“The worst thing is that we don’t have money to pay rent. we don't know what to eat because this weed has rendered us jobless.”
Fishmonger Pamela Akinyi said they scramble for a few expensive fish from Mbita and Suba subcounties.
She said fishmongers are using road transport, which is more expensive.
“Those who bring fish here are forced to travel long distances by road. This pushes up fish prices,” Akinyi said.
The price has risen by 40 per cent. George Otieno said boats are not generating any income.
“Our main source of livelihood is transporting people on the lake. We used to earn Sh3,000 a day but we are astonished by the current situation. We nowhere else to earn a livelihood,” Otieno said. Agriculture executive Eliud Otieno said the weed has hurt the county economy.

He said they are looking for a broad approach of dealing with the weed since it covers neighbouring counties.

“We want to involve the state and other counties in this issue because Homa Bay alone cannot manage it,” he said.

Concerns of malaria disease spread have also been raised due to the water hyacinths in the beaches since the weeds provide breeding sites for mosquitoes.