A 27-year-old boat captain won the biggest catch during the third annual Lamu fishing competition on Monday after capturing a 32 kilogramme Sailfish in the just concluded contest.
Yusuf Harun from Shanga, along the Kenya-Somalia border, with his crew of four emerged victorious, beating 45 other competitors who took part in this year’s festival.
He said it was his first time to join the competition and attributed his win to hard work.
"We struggled with the fish for over one-and-a-half hours but still managed to catch it," Harun said.
The annual competition, organised by the Lamu county government's department of fisheries and livestock, was flagged off by the Governor Issa Timammy at 3.30am. It was described as the best of all competitions since inception.
Captain Mohamed Swaleh shows his 11.5 kilogramme Kambisi fish which he caught during the third Lamu annual fishing competition, December 12, 2016. /ALPHONCE GARI
The competitors, who were in two categories: trawling and bottom fishing in the deep sea, managed to get 1.5 tonnes of fish altogether.
The winner of the bottom fishing category was 24-year-old Mohamed Swaleh.
The Tamasha boat captain and five crew members caught 11.5 kilogrammes of Kambisi fish.
He said at the deep sea, thew were affected by sunlight, which made it difficult to catch many fish.
"The competition should be done at night in future," Swaleh said.
The winners received cash prizes of Sh70,000 for first position, and Sh60,000 and Sh50,000 for second and third prize respectively.
The annual competition is meant to motivate fishermen in Lamu since the sector is critical to economic activity.
Some of the fish which were caught during the 3rd Lamu annual fishing competition in December 12
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Timmamy and area county commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said the competition was clear proof that the ocean had a lot of resources that could uplift living standards for residents.
The Governor asked Kanyiri to allow fishing at night to enable more catch.
Fisheries chief officer Masoud Ahmed said the competition was important since it helped boost the morale of fishermen in the region.
"The competition shows Kenya and the world that there are fishing experts in Lamu and of higher standards," he said.
He said the department is committed to empowering the fishermen with fishing gear, engines among other facilities to ensure they have the right modern equipment.