Omena ‘reduces’ Nile perch population

The Fisheries Bill signed into law last month will soon be operationalised.

Fisheries PS Japhet Ntiba yesterday said, “Omena fishing is reducing the population of nile perch. If we are not careful, we actually kill the young nile perch as we do omena fishing.”

He spoke during the second Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Forum in Nairobi.

Ntiba said every year, fishers remove young nile perch that could have provided food for generations.

“We need to go back and reintroduce closed seasons and also enforce the use of proper nets. If fishing is well managed, there should be produce for years to come, but if not well managed, it can collapse and we have to work very hard to reintroduce it,” he said.