The heavy rains expected to pound the country for the next two months are unlikely to affect the supply of fish from Lake Victoria, an official has said.
Kisumu County Fisheries director and Homabay beach management unit chairman (BMU) have said the weatherman’s announcement that heavy rains being experienced in most parts of the country will persist should not result in hiked prices of the commodity.
Kisumu’s Jonam Etyang and Phillip Agwanda of Homabay told this writer that fishing on the lake is only affected by tides which is highly unlikely to be witnessed on the lake.
On the contrary, they said the fish population is expected to record a slight rise as nutrients and young fish from feeder rivers are washed into the lake.
“Fishermen tend to be more active during rainy periods as the fish are easier to catch,” said Agwanda, the BMU chair.
They however added that this increase may not bridge the current deficit that has seen prices of the commodity soar. Fish prices have registered an upward trend over the past year as stocks drop.
A two-kilogram tilapia now costs as high as Sh500 up from Sh200 while one kilogram of Nile perch goes for over Sh200 from Sh100 a few months ago.
“What needs to be done is to regulate the sector so that the commodity remains in constant supply. Currently, lack of policies is a major challenge that has threatened to foot the lake in danger of overfishing,” said Etyang’.