Lake Victoria: Big fish swallow small fishermen

By Dann Okoth

KISUMU; KENYA: It is early morning when George picks his way to the beach to begin the day’s work — scouring Lake Victoria for fish.

Like all the 35,000 fishermen who ply their trade in Africa’s largest fresh water lake, George is both a player and victim in an escalating competition for the prized catch fuelled by shrinking grounds, decreasing stocks and the entry of big-money players.

If you doubt the emergence of a new economic base on Lake Victoria steadily shifting in favour of the more moneyed and sophisticated players, just look at George. Once the proud owner of a fleet of five boats, George is today a hired hand for big investors who have leased him a motor boat.

“If you cannot beat them, join them,” he said during an interview at Masoto beach in Nyatike in which he requested that he be identified by his first name only lest he loses his job.

“They came here in a big way and there was no way we could stop them, moreover they gave me a better deal because I cannot go home empty handed,” he adds.

Somali investors

The moneyed investors are said to be Somalis.

The contract between George and the Somalis was such that he was entitled to a tenth of all the day’s catch and the investors would fuel the boat and provide all fishing gear. In addition, George would earn between Sh500-1, 500 depending on how many hours he spent in the lake— whether he brought back fish or not.

“I sat back and weighed my options and decided I would go the Somali way. The incentives were attractive and the deal lifted the burden of expensive fishing and soaring overheads off my shoulders,” he reflects, a wryly smile on his face.

These sentiments are echoed by nearly 25 other fishermen who spoke to The Standard on Saturday, it emerged the economic balance of Lake Victoria was steadily shifting in favour of the more moneyed foreigners with sophisticated equipment.

It all started after the hyacinth invasion of Lake Victoria. The hyacinth menace has reduced fishing areas and with dwindling stocks opened up the lake to fierce competition for its remaining resources, this has led to illegal fishing making it a haven for pirates and other criminal elements.

While Kenya accounts for only 6 per cent of the lake, a huge portion has been claimed by the hyacinth weed — including the entire Winam-Gulf — precipitating a territorial mad rush for the remaining fishing grounds leading to incidents of theft, insecurity and violation of fishing regulations.

According to Nyanza Fisheries Director Michael Obadha, there are currently more than 35,000 fishermen and 15,000 boats playing the lake, but only half of these are licensed by the Government to fish in the lake.

Reports say more than 60,000 people depend directly on the lake for their livelihood. And with the fishing area shrinking fast due to the hyacinth competition to land the catch has never been so vicious. As commercial fishermen with their hi-tech gear try to outdo their counterparts with rudimentary wooden boats, the stage for a turf war has been set. 

The arena for this epic fishing duel stretches from Suba to Nyatike in Migori and the surrounding islands where the weed has not invaded.

Recently, a coterie of foreign investors descended on the lake titling the fishing balance. According to the locals, they now control much of commercial fishing in Suba and Migori districts, which account for 52 per cent of all fish output on Lake Victoria. And although the investors who have injected hundreds of millions of shillings to purchase more than 200 boats are welcome by the local fishermen who say they offer better prices for fish — controversy surrounds their true identity and legality.

Foreign invasion

The company, which goes by the name Lake Victoria Fishing Group, has not been licensed by the Government to fish in Lake Victoria and environmentalists accuse it of using trawlers to net fish against regulations.

When The Standard on Saturday visited Mihuru Bay in Suba, a trawler, allegedly operated by foreigners had docked at the bay to deliver fish.

In an unmarked building on the shore we encountered a Somali national who could not speak English or Kiswahili. Two Ugandan women manning the depot demanded to know what we wanted—and upon seeing our camera they quickly summoned the guards who hurriedly muscled us out of the property.

According to Nyanza Fisheries Director Michael Obadha, the company is not licensed to fish in Lake Victoria.

“Trawling has been banned on Lake Victoria and as far as we are aware there is no such activity going on in the lake,” he says. Adding: “There is an official guideline for the type of nets to be used in the lake, including five inch and above for gillnets and 10mm for omen (dagaa) and hooks. There is also the close-season from April 1 to July 31 when fishing is not allowed in the lake to allow stock re-generation. This was agreed between the Government and all stakeholders and anybody violating this is in breach of the law.”

Obadha says there are 52 breeding sites on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria that need to be protected.

The Kenya Fish Processors and Exporters Association (AFIPEK) also denied knowledge of the company adding the body was self-regulating and bound by fishing regulations by the three East African countries.

“We have seven members who are working with fishermen from Lake Victoria and none of them goes by the name Lake Victoria Fishing Group,” says Betty Wagudi, AFIPEK Executive Officer. “If there is such a company operating in the lake we would need to investigate and find out to whom they sell their catch,” she adds.

Environmentalists have accused the foreigners of encroaching on fish breeding grounds and using unorthodox means to cat fish thereby depleting stocks.

“They control everything,” moaned Mr Ochieng’ Mireri of Osienala, an NGO working to restore the environment in Lake Victoria.  “The financial muscle they wield is massive,” says the environmental scientist, who also doubles as an activist.

“They poured in hundreds of millions of shillings and no other investor could match them, affording them a free ride. But they are using trawlers and do not observe closed seasons,” he says.

Dangerous missions

Nyatike MP Omondi Anyanga says the foreign investors are welcome as long as they invest in fishing infrastructure, including installing cooling plants, providing refrigerated vehicles to transport fish and constructing processing plants along the beaches.

He asked the Ministry of Fisheries Department to formulate laws to govern the fisheries sector. The sector still operates under laws formulated in the early 1960s.

 To beat the stiff competition and depleted fish stocks occasioned by overfishing Kenyan fishermen have been forced to venture further into the lake as they seek the illusive catch.

But this has on countless times proven perilous with the fishermen either getting arrested by Tanzanian and Ugandan authorities on charges of trespass.  

But boxed in by the prevailing inflation and spiralling cost of living on the one hand and lack of alternatives in terms of better fishing equipment such as motor boats nets and improved infrastructure on the other, the fishermen seem to have no way out but to warm up to new investors who offer better terms.