Fishermen raise concern over water abstraction in Lake Naivasha

Fishermen in Lake Naivasha have raised an alarm over massive abstraction of water from the body, a move they say has adversely affected fish catch.

The fishermen have accused flower farms of killing fingerlings in the process with fish catch in the troubled water body dropping by over 50 per cent.

This came as the fishermen expressed their concern over closure of corridors around the lake by investors leading to a rise in case of human-wildlife conflict.

In the last couple of months, some farmers have been using huge pipes to draw water from the lake. This is after water levels dropped sharply due to the recent drought.

According to the chairperson in charge of patrols in the lake Grace Nyambura, the massive abstraction of water had adversely affected recent restocking.

She challenged the Water Resources Authority to intervene as the ongoing exercise posed a major threat to fish production.

“These big pipes are siphoning even the fingerlings and this has seen fish catch drop sharply at a time when the numbers of illegal fishermen are on the rise,” she said.

Speaking during a stakeholder’s forum in Naivasha, Nyambura called for a solution to the protracted cases of corridors around the lake. She said  fishermen were working in fear.

“Around 20 corridors around the lake have been blocked by investors and this has affected services in some beaches. It seen an increase in cases of human-wildlife conflict,” she said.

The project manager Center for Transformational leadership Peter Rono, attributed the rise in conflicts around the lake to poor management skills and unfulfilled political promises.

Rono said the lake had a lot of potential to support area residents, adding that the issue of corridors and illegal fishing could be solved amicably.

“We are working with members of the beach management units in addressing and resolving emerging issues coming from this lake,” he said.

Kamere landing beach chairman Daniel Onyango took issue with double taxation by the county and national governments against dwindling sales.

“With fish catch dropping, our sales have also gone down, we cannot afford to pay licensing fees to both the national and county governments,” he said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by another trader Josephine Wangui who said illegal fishing was on the rise adversely affecting fish catch and sales.

“We are concerned by the rise in cases of illegal fishing as we call on the county government to assist in restocking the lake with fingerlings,” she said.