Fishermen in Homa Bay have agreed to work closely with fisheries department to address challenges facing them and bad fishing practices in Lake Victoria.
The collaboration efforts are aimed at finding solutions to constant harassment of fishermen by foreign authorities and eradicating the use of illegal gear during fishing in the lake.
Security officials from the Ministry of Interior and national administration are also enjoined in the team to address the challenges.
Homa Bay County Beach Management Units chairman Edward Oremo and his deputy Tom Guda said they have formed a committee that will ensure they protect the lake from bad fishing practices.
The committee constitutes of officials from BMUs, Fisheries department and the Kenya Coast Guard officials.
“The committee members will be sensitising fishermen in beaches on the negative impacts of bad fishing practices. Fishermen need to understand the importance of complying with fisheries department,” Oremo said.
Speaking during a meeting in Homa Bay town, Oremo said they will undertake patrols as a way of protecting the lake from bad fishing practices.
On several occasions, Kenyan fishermen have decried harassment from Uganda and Tanzania authorities.
The foreign authorities seize boats and subject the fishermen to hefty fines over trespass during fishing expeditions.
Oremo expressed hopes that working together will enable them to bring sanity in the fishing sector.
“Lake Victoria is a shared resource and it should benefit all of us. There are common laws regarding fishing in the lake which we should comply with to ensure challenges our fishermen face are solved,” he added.
Bad fishing practices are said to have contributed to dwindling of fish population in the lake.
Homa Bay has the largest water cover of Lake Victoria in Kenya with at least 137 active fish operating beaches.
The BMU chairman said bad fishing practices have also promoted conflicts in the lake as some fishermen catch undersize fish.
“Those who use illegal fishing gear catch premature fish hence interfere with their population. Shortage of fish in the lake makes Kenyan fishermen to trespass and cause their arrest by foreign authorities,” Oremo said.
During the meeting, the fishermen urged governors whose counties are bordering the lake to work with the National government to address insecurity challenges.
The counties include Homa Bay, Migori, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia.
Guda argued that some conflicts faced in the lake are because some states sharing the lake as a resource have not fully embraced common laws to guide fishing operations.
“It’s high time we used the agreed laws to avoid cases of conflicts,” he said.
