Fish production drops in Lake Naivasha

The cold weather season has caused a sharp drop in fish production in Lake Naivasha, with common carp most affected, according to area fishermen. 

Boat operator Joel Opiyo said it is normal for common carp catch to drop at this time of the year.

Opiyo who operates from Karagita landing beach said that in the past, one boat would record over 200kgs of common carp per day.

“Currently one boat catches about 20kg of common carp, while that of tilapia has risen and this is the norm every time of the year,” he said.

He challenged the county government to keep its word and restock the lake noting that for years fishermen have been forced to contribute towards the exercise.

“The county earns millions of shillings from cess collected from the four landing beaches around the lake and the only gift they can give to fishermen is fingerlings,” he said.

David Kilo from the Boat Operators Association noted that common carp hibernates during the cold season to reproduce.

“In the next two months we expect common carp production to dominate the catch as the weather will be warmer then,” he said.

Kilo who is also an honorary game warden said overfishing was one of the major challenges facing the sector.

“We have seen the number of illegal fishermen rise. They operate along the shorelines and the breeding zones causing a major threat to fish production,” he said.

Nakuru County director of fisheries Mathew Ngila termed the current situation as normal.

He said that soon after the planned clean-up, the county would restock the lake with 50,000 fingerlings as part of efforts to boost fish production.

“The county has set aside Sh500,000 for the restocking exercise and this will go every financial year on as the lake offers food and job opportunities to hundreds of people,” he said.

(edited by O. Owino)

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