KISUMU, KENYA: Fifty nine per cent of fish landing sites in Kisumu County do not have toilets, compromising sanitation along the beaches, a recent survey commissioned by the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase two (Lvemp II).
The Frame Survey 2016 has revealed that Kisumu County has the lowest percentage of landing sites with toilets, compared with five four other counties bordering Lake Victoria.
Only 41 per cent of fish landing sites in Kisumu have toilets. Out of 44 landing sites, only 18 out of 44 of them have toilet facilities in the just released frame survey that was undertaken between 2014 and 2016.
Siaya County is leading with the number of toilets on the landing sites at 80 per cent. Out of 81 sites, 65 of them have toilets. Siaya is closely followed by Homa Bay, where 65 per cent of fish landings sites have toilets.
Homa Bay comes second with 65 per cent of its 102 landing sites having toilet facilities used by fisher folks.
The survey launched by Fisheries Principal Secretary Prof Micheni Ntiba also indicates that 64 per cent of 18 landing sites in Busia County, and 62 per cent of 18 landing sites in Migori respectively have toilets.
Ntiba said the number of fishermen have also increased by 3,686 despite the existing environmental challenges in a span of two years.
In 2014, the number of fishers stood at 40,113 while it has now grown to 43,799.
Forty two per cent of the fishers are from Homa Bay County, 28 per cent form Siaya, as Migori and Busia each have 11 per cent of the fishers.
Kisumu has the least number of fishers as only 3,430, which is equivalent to eight per cent of the total number.
Ntiba pointed out that there are so many people operating in the lake yet they have not been licensed to do so.
The survey also indicates that the number of boats operating in the lake have also increased by nine per cent.
"In a span of two year. The number of fishing crafts in the lake have increased, from 13,402 to about 14,365," he said.
Fish cage farmers are one of the lake users who need to be licensed so that they may receive advice from the ministry on the right places they should put their cages to avoid interfering with other lake users. Ntiba commended the uptake of aquaculture development in the lake since it is an opportunity of reducing the pressure on the lakes' fish stock.
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