Lamu conservationists want Lake Kenyatta freed of hyacinth

Conservationists have joined Lamu residents in calling on the county and national governments to move with speed to eradicate the water hyacinth that continues to choke the life out of Lamu’s only freshwater lake, Lake Kenyatta.

Situated in Mpeketoni in Lamu west, Lake Kenyatta has continued to come extreme threats of extinction from massive human activity and most recently, the water hyacinth which has engulfed close to a quarter of the water body.

Hundreds of fishermen who depend on the lake for a lifeline have been unable to access most parts of the lake as the notorious weed continues to spread.

The trade has since dwindled as the weed has caused a decline in fish from the lake with the majority of the fishermen being forced to down their tools for lack of their usual catch.

The Lake Kenyatta Fishermen Association chairperson Mulo Muga said as a result, their daily catch from the lake had dropped from over 20 kilos of fish to barely a kilo or two.

“That was before the hyacinth but now there’s barely any fish here. We hope the concerned parties move with speed before this weed engulfs the whole lake considering the high speed at which it's growing,” said Muga.

The presence of the weed makes it impossible for the fishermen to cast and spread their nets due to reduced accessibility and visibility.

Benta Akinyi, a conservationist warned that failure to have the hyacinth removed in time could spell disaster for Lamu’s only freshwater lake.

She said the weed has partly been occasioned by increased human activity around the lake among them farming and livestock herding which she believes has resulted in the use of chemicals which in turn provide the perfect ground for hyacinth to thrive.

“Overgrazing and farming along the lake’s inlets have resulted in a lot of siltation. The farmers and herders also use pesticides on their animals and crops, much of which ends up in the lake. It then makes the silt fertile for hyacinth growth,” said Akinyi.

Currently, the weed also continues to impair the movement of boats and other marine vessels on the lake by conservationists and fishermen who attempt to access it.