The Taita Taveta county government has started plans to tap the economic potential in its unexploited blue economy.
County executive for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation Davis Mwangoma said the county is engaging other development partners to build capacity and improve fishing in the region.
He said the county eyes to spur economic growth by fully exploring the sector.
“The blue economy is here with us and we are planning to venture into developing our fishing sector. Implementation of blue economy strategies have been included in our department,” Mwangoma said.
He said the department will prioritise aquaculture development, revival of fish ponds, installation of fish cage farming and development of fish fingerlings. The county, he said, will further focus on management of Lake Chala and Lake Jipe as well as overcoming fish farming challenges such as availability of fish feeds in the county.
“Both Lake Chala and Lake Jipe have a high potential of turning around the fishing sector in the county if fully exploited. Blue economy will also be a way of creating jobs for hundreds of our jobless youths,” he added pointing out that the industry will improve livelihoods of residents if fully utilised.
Besides aquaculture, Mwangoma said the blue economy will be extended to development of other aspects that includes education, tourism and trade.
County assembly’s agriculture committee chairman Juma Mwamba said the blue economy sector will be a key project for all the coastal economic blocs’ Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani.
“Taita Taveta county has now joined Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu counties in prioritising blue economy in their county development plans,” Mwamba said on Sunday.
Fishing in the county is however faced with challenges of the fast-falling water levels especially in Lake Jipe, thus reducing the rate of fish breeding.
Fishermen in the region want the government to desilt the freshwater lake to avert possible collapse of the fishing industry.
They also want farmers to stop abstracting huge amounts of water from the Njoro Kubwa canal that empties water into the lake.
“The low water level has cut short our fishing business that has created employment for over 200 fishermen. Siltation has to be stopped,” the Jipe Beach Management Unit chairman Willy Mkudi told the Star in an interview at Mkanjuni beach.
He said if the water levels continue to drop, it might lead to the extinction of the Jipe Tilapia locally known as Asili. The lake’s native fish species has helped residents fetch good money after the sale.
-Edited by Sarah Kanyara