Fishermen in Lake Naivasha have been urged to use the allowed mesh-size fishing nets for sustainable exploitation of natural resources.
Nakuru County Acting Director of FisheriesRaymond Mwangata said using the right size of gillnets would ensure that fish stock at the lake is not depleted.
He said the use of the right mesh-size fishing nets aims at improving the selective properties of a fishing gear so that bycatches of juvenile fish are reduced.
The County Government of Nakuru gave boat owners operating in the only freshwater lake in Rift Valley 970 fishing nets in its drive to ensure sustainable fishing.
Although Lake Turkana has fish, the resource has been found to have the most saline water among the lakes in the region while Baringo waters are said to have high levels of fluoride.
Mwangata said the donation included 330 four-inch gillnets, 640 five-inch gillnets and an additional 100 standard life jackets for safety.
At Tarambete Beach, in Malewa West, Gilgil sub-county, 38 boat owners got 190 four-inch gillnets, 200 five-inch gillnets and 100 life jackets.
In the recent past, there has been massive illegal fishing in the lake that involved the use of smaller mesh fishing nets that threatened to deplete the stock.
To avert this, the national government in collaboration with the county deployed Coast Guards to restore order and sanity to the lake.
Mwangata said that providing fishers with the right nets will allow a proper reproduction cycle thus giving room for maturity.
He said the county had set up a hatchery unit at the Tarambete beach adding that it would allocate additional funds of about Sh4 million to cater for its completion and operationalisation.
"The county has been working in the hatchery in phases and it is almost through with the physical structures. Sh4 million will be for buying feeds, fingerlings, brooders and equipment," he said.
Mwangata who was accompanied by Education Chief Officer, Ann Njenga said other fishery projects in the ward included Nyondia integrated fish farming unit and the Gatamaiyo Youth Fish Group which is at 70 per cent completion.
"Going forward, the county will allocate funds for the training of Beach Management Response Team's to equip them better to deal with emergencies," he added.
Tarambete Beach chairman, Rajab Omari said the nets will help them fish and earn a livelihood.
However, he observed that the beach has no landing area and asked the County Government of Nakuru to help them acquire land.
"We have identified a piece of land is up for sale close to the lake shores and we are urging the county government to help us buy it," he said.
Omari also urged the county government to create a public corridor to the said land so that they easily ferry their catch.
