A fish farmer in Nyabigege village of Tabaka sub-county in Kisii on Monday morning was counting losses after fish in his three ponds were poisoned.
Thomas Osiemo was preparing to make his second harvest early next week only to wake and find all fish in the ponds were dead. Tabaka Sub-County Agricultural Officer Henry Nyamota, whom he called that morning confirmed that the fish had not died of natural causes.
“In the three fish ponds I had about 2000 fish ready to be harvested. It is a huge loss for me. This has really demoralized me as a young farmer in the fish industry,” said Osiemo.
The county agricultural officer said that a toxic substance might have been poured into the pond that led to the death of all fish in the pond. He called upon other fish farmers in the area to be cautious and have their compounds well fenced to avoid prevent intruders.
He promised to investigate the matter and help in identifying the perpetrator of that malicious incident.
“We will take the samples of the dead fish so that we can exactly identify the exact toxic substance that was poured into the pond,” said Nyamota.
He also called upon the area residents to help officers with information that would lead to the arrest of the offender. He said his arrest would ensure a repeat of such an unfortunate incident is deterred.
Meanwhile the farmer is appealing for assistance to enable him recover from the massive loss.