How water hyacinth has paralysed fishing activities in Lake Naivasha
Rift Valley
By
Antony Gitonga
| Dec 20, 2025
Fishermen around Lake Naivasha are now challenging the county government to hasten the process of dealing with the water hyacinth, which has now covered a third of the water body.
The weed, which is rising sharply, is likely to paralyse the fishing expeditions in the coming days if no action is taken.
Two months ago, Governor Kinuthia Mbugua announced a joint venture between the county and Karatina University to deal with the weed.
Under the deal, the university would conduct research on how to eradicate the evasive weed, which has adversely affected fishing and tourism operations.
Lake Naivasha Boat Owners Association Chairman David Kilo said the weed is making them lose thousands of shillings, mainly around Kamere beach.
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Fishing nets worth millions of shillings have been destroyed by the plant, which has also made navigation harder and, at times, impossible.
"As the water levels increase, the area under the weed also goes up, destroying fishing nets and paralysing fishing operations," he said.
Mr Kilo said they were waiting for the research findings by the university on ways of eradicating the weed.
"We fully support the initiative by the county and the university to deal with the weed, which has even affected tourism activities," he said.
The weed has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which will ultimately lead to an increase in malaria cases.
"Mosquitoes are now breeding around the weeds, and we have noticed an increase in cases of malaria among fishermen," he said.
A seasoned fisherman, Erick Chege, said the introduction of water hyacinth had seen cases of malaria around the water body rise.
A study by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) documented that mosquitoes had found a new source of food in invasive plants, including the water hyacinth.