Fishermen and fishmongers in Lake Naivasha have called for extension of fishing period and requested the fisheries department to lift the annual three months ban on fishing.
The fish business, which is regularly stopped for three months annually by the fisheries department to regulate the number of fish in Lake Naivasha, has been hard hit in the past years.
They claim that fish is in plenty this season adding the move to ban fishing will not be of any importance.
“The lake is closed for three months every year to allow breeding but we now have more than enough fish. Some are even going to waste yet the fisheries department is still adamant that they will effect the order as has been the routine,” lamented Jared Nyakumo, a fisherman.
The fishmongers said they have incurred heavy losses in the past after the closure of fishing. They called upon the county government of Nakuru to intervene and suspend the ban.
“I have children that I educate, I have rented a house and I still need money to survive. This is where we eke a living and we, therefore, plead with them to consider our plight,” begged Judith Akinyi, a fishmonger.
The fishermen also decried flouting of this regulation by some poachers who continue to fish illegally even when the order is in place.
“Even if we are barred from conducting our normal business for the three months, other illegal activities including poaching will still go on. We also have nothing else to do to earn a living,” lamented Julius Maina, a fisherman.