It is more than 25 years since water hyacinth invaded Lake Victoria. When it first appeared, most fishermen thought the weed would provide breeding sites for more catch. However, it spread and covered a larger area of the lake.
Fisherman Arot Owade, 85, ventured into the fishing business five decades ago. Owade and his colleagues used to make a killing from the fish trade before the weed emerged in the late ’80s.
“Hardly a day would pass without a fisherman making at least Sh8,000 per day. We wholly depended on the fish trade,” Owade says.
The hyacinth has now formed a thick, green carpet on the lake. Fishermen are no longer able to achieve potential earnings.
Owade’s home village is about 250m from Lake Victoria in Shauri Yako, Homa Bay town. He says the weed denies them access to the lake, terming it a menace. “Most fishing activities are hampered with because we can’t get fish,” he says.
Hyacinth sprouts fast and has blocked several beaches in Homa Bay and Kisumu counties. Some of it grows as tall as papyrus reeds and forms a bush in the lake.
“Nowadays we depend on strong wind-currents to push it away for us to access the lake with our boats for fishing,” Owade says.
FISH OUT OF WATER
Owade says the weed has also interfered with indigenous fish species. These include Alestes (Osoga), Labeo (Ningu), Synodontis (Okoko), Bagrus (Seu), Barbus (Fwani), Schilbe (Sira), Mormyrus (Suma) and Haplochromis (Fulu).
The indigenous fish species hide beneath and migrate with the weed, so fishermen find it difficult to catch them. The weed also provides shelter for snakes and other harmful reptiles.
“There is plenty of fish under the weed, but fishermen fear they can be bitten by the snakes,” Owade says.
The inaccessibility of indigenous fish species has made fishermen concentrate on exotic species like
Tilapia
and
Nile Perch. The population of
Omena
is also affected.
Water Hyacinth maroon Lake Victoria affecting various transport activities within the lake and fishing business.
According to Owade, the indigenous species were a supplementary to exotic ones, which like clear water.
Owade says the inadequate population of
tilapia
and
Nile Perch
has made residents struggle for fish.
“Before this weed came into the lake, we had fish in abundance. Okoko (Synodontis) was in plenty since the
Nile Perch
does not feed on it due to its sharp fins, but today fish is inadequate,” he says.
The mzee says the weed has long subjected fishermen to hazards. The most tragic situation is when it traps fishermen and cuts transport links.
Owade says the weed has also polluted the water.
“Before the weed appeared, we used to directly take the water for domestic purposes because it’s a freshwater lake. But today the water is dirty and smells due to the weed,” he says.
FISHING NOW SEASONAL
Fish trader Beatrice Aoko says the business has faced a lot of tribulations because of hyacinth. She says the weed has rendered fishing a seasonal activity, which is done only when it disappears.
She says inadequacy of fish has made the good expensive. The price of fish varies between Sh800 and Sh3,000, depending on the size.
“Customers complain of high prices but we tell them it’s not our fault. The shortage is because of hyacinth,” Aoko says.
The Lake Victoria Beach Management Unit national chairman Tom Guda agrees with Owade and Aoko. Guda says the weed has turned the lake into a dangerous place for fishermen to source their livelihood. He says more than 102 fishermen were trapped between September and December.
“Most fishermen have abandoned fishing for alternative sources of livelihood because they lose fishing gears and boats trapped by the weed,” Guda says.
The national chairman urges the national and county governments to intervene by deploying modalities of removing the weed from the lake.
He says the lake contributes 85 per cent of Kenya’s total revenues generated from fish production, and delays in addressing the matter would hurt the country’s economic growth.
Guda says the weed has affected most beaches in Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia counties.
“A very big fishing population has downed their tools because of the weed. Addressing the issue of water hyacinth is part of conserving Lake Victoria, which is a natural resource of the country,” Guda says.
He adds that the presence of the weed has hurt tourism. “Most scenery in beaches along the lake has been blocked by the weed. Hoteliers also have a hard time getting fish for tourists,” he says.
SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
Homa Bay Beach Management Unit chairman Edward Oremo says manual removal should be applied as the national and county governments wait for mechanical and botanical methods.
He says manual removal will conserve the lake’s ecosystem besides creating employment for the youth.
“More than 60 per cent of Lake Victoria water in Kenya is in Homa Bay, so the weed interferes much with economic activities in the lake,” Oremo says.
He says they had approached the Homa Bay government to finance residents to manually remove the weed from the lake.
“More than four times, we have been forced to reach Kenya Maritime Authority officials in Kisumu for rescue services due to frequent cases of fishermen getting stuck in water hyacinth,” Oremo says.
The national and county governments acknowledge the weed in the lake is an environmental issue that needs to be resolved.
The Environment and Fisheries ministries have partnered with a donor-funded organisation, the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Programme to safeguard the freshwater lake.
Homa Bay director of fisheries George Okoth says three approaches had been proposed to eliminate the weeds but none has been successful. They are mechanical, biological and manual removal.
The county introduced a weevil into the lake to destroy the weeds in 2013. The weevil was reared by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.
“Research revealed the weevil type could feed on the weeds, but it later disappeared after BMU officials mishandled the method,” Okoth says.
The mechanical approach was used when a water hyacinth harvester machine was bought to remove the weed from the lake. Okoth says the machine does not operate due to a mechanical breakdown.
“The mechanical removal remains the best and safest method of dealing with the weeds since they can be used for making couches, biogas and even fertiliser,” he adds.
Deputy Governor Hamilton Orata says manual removal is risky to human health, besides being an expensive way of eradicating the weed.
He says the snails, snakes and mosquitoes residing in the weed can hurt residents who engage in removing them.
“The county has inadequate resources to adopt a manual removal process. Secondly, we don’t want to expose people to diseases like malaria, bilharzia and snakebite,” Orata says.
The deputy governor says the county has signed a deal with a partner to remove the weed. “The partner wants to ensure the weed is turned into economic use, including making compost manure,” he says.
As several methods are proposed to eradicate the weed, the government has embarked on educating communities about environmental management.
“The government through LVEMP is sensitising people about proper waste disposal to avoid pollution of Lake Victoria water,” Okoth says.