Nakuru county has now partnered with farmers to launch fish farming, reducing the pressure on Lake Naivasha from fishing.
Farmers and youth groups will be trained on how to start the business and will be assisted to start raising fish on their small farms around the county.
The county has set aside Sh40 million for construction of raised fish ponds.
County CEC for Agriculture Immaculate Maina says raised fish ponds will improve the quantity and quality of fish.
Farmers have been trained on setting up the ponds and those wth raised ponds have received fingerlings.
We know the problem we have in illegal fishing and we can only end this by creating alternatives for them,
Instead of digging fish ponds in the ground, elevated ponds are easier to set set up and manage. They also provide quality species of fish.
“We are taking farmers for training at the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology where they can see how a raised pond words," Maina said.
Once the ponds are constructed, the problem of illegal fishing will be reduced significantly. Unemployed youths will have jobs in fish farming.
“We know the problem we have in illegal fishing and we can only end this by creating alternatives for them,” the CEC said.
The county will also upgrade the capacity of the Lake Naivasha Beach Management Units to protect the water body.
Maina said the BMUs will help fighting illegal fishing and poaching.
"We will see how we can best enhance the capacity of BMUs to ensure they safeguarding the lake from overfishing and use of small-mesh nets that catch immature fish.
Maina said the county was testing Lake Navasha salinity levels. The county and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (Kemfri) would carry out tests before restocking popular tilapia that is on the verge of extinction.
(Edited by V. Graham)
