Siaya:The fishing community in Siaya is urging the government to enact legislation that imposes severe penalties on the manufacturers and users of prohibited fishing gear in the nation’s territorial waters.
According to Kenya News Agency, the fishermen argue that lenient penalties have long facilitated the production and use of illegal gear, contributing to the decline in fish stocks, particularly in Lake Victoria. This issue was highlighted during an event at Luanda Kotieno in Rarieda sub-county, where illegal fishing gear worth over Sh2.5 million was destroyed.
Rarieda Sub County Fisheries Officer, Mark Owino, reported that undersized nets measuring 1.5 inches were confiscated from fish breeding sites within the Siaya portion of Lake Victoria. Owino expressed frustration that despite ongoing enforcement operations, illegal gear continues to proliferate due to a lack of regulation at the supply chain level.
‘We have been burning these nets over and over, but vendors keep selling them,’ Owino stated, urging both national and county governments to implement strict regulations to prohibit the manufacture and sale of these small nets at the factory and retail levels.
He noted that the 1.5-inch nets pose a significant threat to Lake Victoria’s ecosystem by capturing fingerlings and destroying breeding stocks. Fishermen, led by Kennedy Ochieng, called for the closure of businesses that produce or sell illegal gear, emphasizing that targeting manufacturers and retailers is crucial.
Ochieng stated, ‘It is high time the government targets the shops and factories producing these tiny nets.’ The fishermen also appealed to the government to reinstate seasonal lake closures, previously observed annually between April and August, to support the growth of fish populations.
