Homa Bay fishermen fight over depleted fish stocks

Dwindling fish stocks in Lake Victoria have sparked fights among fishermen competing for the scarce resources.

The situation has seen rival groups destroy each others' fishing gear. The rivalry is mainly between fishermen who catch silver cyprinid known in Dholuo as omena, and their counterparts who catch Nile perch, known in Dholuo as mbuta.

The two groups use different types of fishing nets and also venture into the lake at different times.

Usually, the fishermen who catch Nile Perch go into the lake during the day, cast their fishing nets, and return home. They return to the lake the following day at dawn to collect the fish caught by their nets. However, they claim that omena fishermen, who operate at night have been destroying their nets and stealing their fish.

Interviews with a number of fishermen at Wayando Beach in Mbita Sub-County established that the problem has now escalated into physical fights and retaliatory destruction of nets.

On Monday, Beach Management Unit officials had to intervene to stop a physical fight between the fishermen after tensions escalated.

Wayando Beach Management Unit Chairman Bernard Ooro expressed concerns that the issue had escalated to the extent that it could result in death.

"The problem between the two groups of fishermen is serious and there are instances where there have been physical fights," Ooro said.

He called on government agencies to intervene in the matter to salvage the situation.

"We appeal to our government agencies to intervene and help us solve this problem. This problem is affecting our income as the fishing community," he added.

County Director of Fisheries George Okoth said they are seeking ways to address the problem.

Okoth said this is not the first time such cases have been reported in the Lake.

"We have held meetings with the fishermen and told them what to do in order to avert the wrangles. We are going to put modalities in place to address the problem," Okoth said.

The conflicts are attributed to the dwindling fish population in Lake Victoria.

Traders told The Standard that they have been incurring losses due to the in-fighting between the fishermen.