Dennis Odhiambo preparing fishing nets on his boat at Mahanga beach. Photo/Frankline Otieno
By BRENDA HOLO
in Siaya, Kenya
As dawn breaks over Mahanga Beach, the once-bustling fish market now hums with a quieter urgency.
The familiar aroma of fresh fish fills the air, but there’s a sense of anticipation and worry among the women lined up with baskets, eagerly awaiting the catch of the day.
Fishing boats pull in and out of the shore, each one carrying a smaller haul than the last. For the women here, buying fish isn’t just a transaction—it’s their livelihood, their daily bread, and a way to keep their families afloat.
Fishing has long been the life-blood for the communities that dot the shores of Lake Victoria, particularly in Siaya County, Western Kenya. The lake, once teeming with Nile perch and tilapia, now struggles under the strain of climate change and pollution.
Fishermen like Kelvin Ajwala, the Beach Management Secretary of Mahanga Beach, are feeling the weight of these changes firsthand. “A few years ago, we would haul in catches of up to 100 kilograms. Now, it’s a struggle to even reach 30 kilograms,” Ajwala reflects, his voice tinged with frustration.
Ajwala, who represents 520 fishermen, has witnessed the lake’s transformation over his 20 years of fishing. The dramatic drop in fish numbers can be traced back to a severe die-off that occurred between September and November 2022.
“Fish would float lifelessly on the surface,” he recalls. Studies have since pointed to oxygen depletion in the lake’s waters, a problem exacerbated by rising temperatures and increased pollution.
Lake Victoria’s pollution crisis is severe. Plastic waste, oil spills, and untreated industrial effluents have tainted its waters. The World Bank’s 2020 report highlights how these pollutants disrupt aquatic life, while overfishing—driven by a growing population and unregulated fishing practices—further strains the lake’s ecosystem.
Ajwala has fished at Mahanga Beach and other beaches across Lake Victoria for over 20 years and attributes the reduction of fish in the Lake to climate shifts.
“Between September and November 2022, hundreds of thousands of fish died in this lake. The dead fish would float on water, and fishermen would go and pick them out of the water, either for domestic or commercial purposes. This shows that something changed in the Lake, which affected the water quality causing the fish to die,” Ajwala points out.
According to a study commissioned by Kenya’s State Department for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy by Dr. Kevin Obiero in 2022. Obiero’s study revealed that fish deaths resulted from fish suffocation due to oxygen depletion in the water.
The report points out that the climatic shifts affecting water result in reduced oxygen levels, causing “diseases, thermal shock and salinity shock, among other factors.”
There is extensive pollution in Lake Victoria, as the number of disposals such as plastic waste has increased significantly, affecting the aquatic life of the water body.
According to a report by World Bank’s Water Global Practice 2020, plastic waste is dumped directly into the lake by area residents and fishermen, while others are carried from dry land by surface runoff during a heavy downpour. Other sources of pollution include oil spillage from boats and other untreated effluent from industries.
Over-fishing Crisis
Overfishing has posed another challenge altogether. Due to the increased population bordering Lake Victoria, the number of fishermen depending on the water for their livelihoods has increased.
“Nowadays, you cannot go without finding people who are fishing; people fish from January to December,” explains Dennis Odhiambo, a fisherman on Mageta Island, Mahanga Beach.
Odhiambo recalls when fishing was regulated by the Government, which directed when fishing was allowed or prohibited, supported by the fishing communities in the area. Fishing all year round has led to under-fishing. This is where fishing communities catch immature fish and fingerlings, quickly diminishing the fish population.
Floating cages of Beyond Vision 2030 group on Lake Victoria. Photo/Frankline Otieno
But that is not the only cause of the fish population decline. According to Peter Odhiambo, another fisherman at Mahanga Beach, water hyacinth is a huge problem. He started fishing in 2000.
According to Peter, water hyacinth has reduced fishing grounds/ spaces. Peter’s sentiments are echoed in the findings of the 2021 State Department for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy report.
The report observes that oxygen depletion in the water column tends to be so low that it causes large-scale fish mortality, which limits aquatic biodiversity.
Call for intervention- The County Government of Siaya
All fingers point at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in Siaya County, with fishing industry players citing neglect by the Ministry. Emman Otieno, the Head of the Fisheries Department in the County Government of Siaya, states climate change is the lead cause and is a regional crisis that needs mitigation.
In 2022, Lake Victoria witnessed massive fish deaths in the lake, mainly experienced during May and June. Otieno observations are echoed in the findings of the Obiero report.
“Aquatic life is dependent on dissolved oxygen in the water. If the temperature rises, the dissolved oxygen becomes low, affecting aquatic life, mostly fish. In a fishpond situation”, Otieno states, “you will find fish gulping for air, which stresses them.”
Rising water levels in the region have additionally led to the closure of industries and businesses and the destruction of infrastructure near the Lake.
“We also have a problem of rising water levels in the lake. If you come from Lake Victoria, you will find that the structures, the bandas (makeshift shops by the lake), and even the bridge connecting Usenge to Usieko have been submerged,” Otieno points out.
Other affected areas include Yimbo, another town 28 kilometres from Mahanga Beach in Siaya, where an electricity transformer has been submerged in the lake, endangering the lives of people living within the area.
A report by NASA Earth Observatory 2021 showed that the water level in Lake Victoria has risen to 1137 Meters from 1134 meters above sea level leading to floods. Flooding is a major concern in the lake region, as published in a report by the Nile Basin Initiative in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Smaller islands on the Kenyan side, such as Oyamo and Ndenda, are at risk of being submerged by rising water levels. Currently, there is no mitigation measures put in place by the county government. In other areas where flooding has occurred, people have been forced to relocate to other areas.
Siaya County Government, through the Fisheries Department, has implemented measures to protect marine life to close the fish market gap caused by the dwindling catch.
They have employed mitigation measures to slow climate change and ensure a steady flow of fish in the market. These measures include aquaculture, controlling the number of fishermen in the lake and issuing subsidized fishing gear to fishermen through their respective cooperatives.
Aquaculture and Fish Cage Farming
A 2022 study on aquaculture and fish cage farming explains that it is an increasing phenomenon in the Lake region. The Siaya County Government has a Ksh 30 million (USD 213,000) budget, for fish farming inputs to fishermen through their cooperatives in efforts to encourage them to take on cage fish farming.
Cage fish farming has growing popularity in the lake region with fish farmers in Bondo, Siaya County, embracing the practice.
Emman Otieno, Head of Fisheries Department in the County Government of Siaya. Photo/Frankline Otieno
“Fish caging is a fish farming method where fish fingerlings are stocked and caged within the lake away from predators until their maturity stage”, George Owuor Omondi, cage fish farmer explains.
The cages have a wire mesh lid and a net to protect fish from predators. The design makes harvesting easy because they are accessible and properly fixed. The square cage measuring two by two meters is made so the fish are confined and fed at a central point in the Lake. The floating cage of metals, wire mesh, nets, and 20-litre jerry cans can hold 2,000 fingerlings.
The jerry cans enable the cage to float. It also has two 100kg concrete anchors made of waterproof cement to hold the cage at a central point in the water. Constructing a single fish cage would cost a farmer between Ksh 98,875 (USD $700) and Ksh 155,375 (USD1100), depending on the size.
George Omondi is a fish farmer in Yimbo in Siaya County. He ventured into cage fish farming because it was not labour-intensive and required little space compared to subsistence farming.
These are crops grown for family use, such as maize, millet, and sorghum, which produce lower yields due to changes in the timing of long and short rains, making it difficult to plan planting and harvest time.
“I was introduced to fish caging when I became a member of Beyond Vision 2030 Boda-boda group in 2021. The group consists of 13 members.” Omondi explains.
The Beyond Vision 2030 group started caged fishing at Usenge Beach in Yimbo Sub-County to add depleted fish stock in the Lake. Caged fish farming utilizes the Lake’s resources and is a good alternative to producing fish.
According to Omondi, cage fish farming is more profitable than fishing in the Lake.
“After seven to eight months, the fish is ready for harvest, and the group can make more than Ksh 240,210 (USD 1,700) from a cage. It is a good way to make money compared to conventional fishing.” Omondi observes.
According to a May 2021 report on the assessment of socio-economic effects of illegal fishing on Lake Victoria by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), cage fish farming has revived the fishing industry since capture fisheries; (capturing fish from open bodies such as rivers, lakes and oceans) depleted fish populations over time due to overfishing. Cage fishing helps reduce overfishing and curbs harmful fishing practices.
The fisheries department in Siaya County has a licensing policy to keep track of the number of authorized fishermen in the lake. Contrary to what the fishermen believe, licensing is a way for the county government to source money.
Emman Otieno, Siaya County Head of the Fisheries Department, argues that the number of fishermen in the lake is very high, and licensing fishing rights is a way of managing those numbers to reduce overfishing.
“The number of fishermen fishing should be limited. It’s sad that people think licensing is solely a form of revenue collection. Ours is about seeing the sustainability of the resources from the lake”, Emman clarifies.
Issuing Subsidized Fishing Gear
The Siaya County Government has distributed subsidized feeds and fishing gear that include gill nets, bottom trawl nets and pelagic trawl nets for the capture fisheries.
Emman argues that the county government is in a crackdown on illegal fishing gear, such as monofilament nets and beach seine nets, which target fish living close to the shore which quickly depletes fish populations.
Issuing subsidized gear would allow fishermen to acquire the right tools to secure sustainable fishing practices that will be procured from their respective cooperatives at lower costs.
But even as the county governments seek to regulate fishermen, a large community living along the shores of Lake Victoria relies solely on fishing to make a living. This scarcity of fish and a larger population seeking to make ends meet resulted in a struggle for survival.
Justine Adhiambo Bura chairperson No Sex for Fish, with the treasure on the left a member of the association. Photo/Frankline Otieno
Survival through transactional sex, also called Jaboya, where fishermen provide female fishmongers with fish in exchange for sexual favours. This has statistically been a catalyst for the spread of HIV and AIDs in this region. One group of women sought to solve this problem. The No Sex for Fish Initiative.
“We started the No Sex for Fish group to empower women living in the lake region, so they do not engage in sex for fish,” Justine Adhiambo Bura, Chairperson of the No Sex for Fish Cooperative.
It was started in 2011 by ten women who took on male-dominated fishing by storm. All they did was buy boats and hire young fishermen. They fish in the lake, haul in the daily catch and are paid by the women who have a majority stake in fishing since they own the boats.
With more women joining the Initiative and purchasing boats, more fishermen were hired, and women now had the economic power and control and no longer succumb to Jaboya.
But for two years ending 2021, the Lake’s backflow, lower water levels meant fewer fish and boats, grounding the Initiative’s women’s boats, some selling boats to make ends meet.
Due to the loss of their boats, the women did not have the fish to supply to their female fish vendors. Some female vendors ran back to Jaboya to continue providing for their families.
“The fight we started did well from 2011 to 2018 until the backflow happened. The backflow has taken 50% of our members back to Jaboya. However, I am adamant that I will not go to Jaboya,” reiterated Bura.
The economic impact of climate change on Lake Victoria’s water and pH levels is a key indicator of a broader socio-economic reality that needs resolution. Even women from the No Sex for Fish Women Group seek to get more women with boats to take ownership of their trade.
With the shifting tides and temperatures, owning boats may be a short to medium-term solution to a broader global challenge to water bodies—a challenge exacerbating communities’ struggling livelihoods reliant on marine life for food and income. There is a need to come up with policies that will serve as long-term solutions to the effects of the changing climate.
The Siaya County and National Governments and fishing communities must establish a new and sustainable operational model based on a genuine understanding of Lake Victoria and its relationship to human socio-economic survival to conserve and preserve marine life.
One initiative making a significant impact is the No Sex for Fish group, founded in 2011 by Justine Adhiambo Bura. This cooperative empowers women by allowing them to own boats and hire fishermen, thus circumventing the exploitative practice of “Jaboya,” where fishmongers exchange fish for sexual favors.
Despite recent setbacks due to lower water levels and fewer fish, the group remains determined to overcome these challenges and support their community.
The plight of Lake Victoria’s fishing communities underscores a pressing need for comprehensive solutions. As climate change continues to affect the lake’s delicate ecosystem, both the local and national governments must work together to create sustainable practices that protect both the environment and the livelihoods dependent on it.
The future of Lake Victoria’s fishing industry—and the communities that rely on it—depends on these crucial interventions.
This story was produced with support from the Earth Journalism Network.
