Naivasha residents have asked the Nakuru county government to lift the ban on fishing in Lake Naivasha imposed two years ago.
Stakeholders around the lake say the move would create employment for jobless youths and earn the county revenue.
Already, tens of illegal fishermen have been kicked out by the Kenya Coast Guard.
The calls come barely a week after residents of Karagita blocked the Moi South Lake Road to protest the killing of a youth allegedly by the Coast Guards.
David Kilo of Lake Naivasha Boat Owners Association said the unemployment crisis around the lake could only be addressed through spot-fishing.
He noted that this could earn the county revenue and provide the tens of youths with job opportunities during the harsh economic times.
“We have condemned all the youths by kicking them from the lake without any alternative and this has led to an increase in cases of crime around estates bordering the lake,” he said.
That argument was supported by one of the youths, Samuel Oloo, who said poverty and unemployment had pushed the youths into illegal fishing in the lake to earn a living.
Oloo, from Tarambeta beach, added that getting a job in the tens of flower farms had become a major challenge leaving hundreds of the youths jobless.
“The decision to force the youths out of the lake is merely transferring the problem to the estates and streets as these people have to survive,” he warned on Monday.
Simon Barasa said that they were keen to work in fish ponds if supported by the county government.
“Currently, the lake is one of the most dangerous places to venture into due to the patrols and attacks by hippos but we don’t have any option as we also have families to feed,” he said.
However, a senior fisheries officer who declined to be named said that the idea was dismissed by a task force formed by the county government.
“The idea had been mooted but there are fears that it is another way of reintroducing illegal fishing in this lake where normalcy is starting to set in,” the officer said.
Edited by Henry Makori
