The fishing industry in Lamu is unable to expand thanks to the lack of title deeds for all the 40 fish landing sites.
This is according to county Fisheries officer Simon Komu.
The fishing industry is a leading economic fetcher for Lamu with more than 6,000 fishermen across the archipelago.
However, the failure by the National Land Commission to issue title deeds for the sites has repelled investors who remain adamant because of the unappealing infrastructure.
Speaking in Lamu on Tuesday, Komu said there is an urgent need for the NLC and the county government to conduct fresh land surveys and alienation of all fish landing sites to secure them and issue title deeds.
He said the biggest challenge is that most of these landing sites are at risk of being grabbed by private developers as they lack proper documentation.
“Apart from the lack of title deeds, the existing law on fisheries has not been able to specify the exact geographical positions or locations of the landing sites but has generally enlisted them as Lamu Fish Landing Site. There is a need to know the specific locations of each landing site so we can secure them.”
The official said fishermen still struggle with where to hold their fish after a day’s work as there is no defined location for the sites.
“The other challenge is that we can’t develop any land that hasn’t been legally declared as a landing site. Normally, we would need to have things like ice plants, fish markets, boatyards, government offices, Beach Management Unit offices, fishing nets repair facilities among other developments," he said.
According to the officer, investors are unwilling to invest in the fishing sector as there is no guaranteed security of fisher lands.
“This has greatly hindered the expansion of the fishing industry in Lamu and has subsequently subjected our fishermen to utmost suffering and poverty."
Woman Representative Ruweida Obbo said she was aware that many of the landing sites had already been grabbed by private developers and urged the government to intervene and reclaim them.
“I know of landing sites in Tenewi, Siyu and Kiongwe which I can confidently confirm that are in the hands of private owners. We are calling for their repossession of the same,” Obbo said.
Last month, Governor Fahim Twaha announced plans to improve the conditions of the landing sites to grow the sector.
The plan includes the establishment of cooling shades which will be installed in various locations used by the fishermen.
There are also plans to purchase more sophisticated equipment to enable fishermen explore deep-sea fishing.
Edited by R.Wamochie
