Fish stocks in Lake Naivasha dwindle amid rising water levels

Fishermen from Lake Naivasha collect some of the abandoned nets which have choked the water body killing hundreds of fish and affecting navigation exercises.[Antony Gitonga].

Fish stocks in  Lake Naivasha are rapidly decreasing due to overfishing, climate change, pollution, and the use of illegal small-mesh nets.

 According to the Fisher fork, the most affected are the Central and Karagita landing beaches, where most hotels and flower farms are located.

 This happened as water levels in the lake continued to rise over the past two months, flooding farms, hotels, and homes, and causing further contamination.

 Grace Nyambura, the chair of the Lake Naivasha and Oloidien boat owners’ association, said fish catches around these two beaches had ceased.

 She noted that as a result, fishermen had been forced to move to North Lake, where catches were higher, in a bid to survive and meet increasing demands.

 “Since last year, fish catches around Central and Karagita beaches have disappeared, and pollution mainly from nearby hotels and flower farms has contributed to this,” she said.

 Nyambura also added that waste from the Naivasha sewer plant was entering the lake, worsening the current situation.

 She urged NEMA to act quickly and enforce the law, warning that fish stocks in the lake were under serious threat as pollution cases continued to rise.

 “Lake Naivasha is surrounded by five informal settlements, and when it rains, all the waste is washed into the water body, adversely affecting the ecosystem and the fisheries sector,” she stated.

 As water levels around the lake keep rising, hoteliers and members of beach management units have been accused of back-filling in an attempt to prevent flooding of their structures.

 According to Francis Muthui, the Chair of Friends of Lake Naivasha, many investors had resorted to dumping tonnes of soil around their properties.

 He explained that soil dumping was one of the main causes of increased silt in the lake and called for intervention by relevant government agencies, including NEMA.

 “As the water levels continue to rise naturally, some investors are using soil to back-fill, which is environmentally wrong, and NEMA should act,” he said.

 Muthui also noted that the rising waters had dramatically altered the face of the riparian land, with numerous farms, hotels, and homes submerged.

 “As water levels around the lake continue to rise, we have seen an increase in siltation, which will have future effects on the ecosystem of this water body,” he warned.