Fishing in Kenya’s Lake Naivasha has been threatened by the water hyacinth which has raided part of the lake.
Fishermen in the lake yesterday called on the government to sponsor them to remove the weed manually.
According to the chairman Lake Naivasha Network Lucas Auma, the fishermen fear they will be rendered jobless if the government does not address the weed immediately.
“We call on the government to sponsor us so that we can remove the weed manually as it is now turning out to be a menace,” Auma said.
He said they are losing their fishing gear worth thousands of shillings every week due to the weed.
Auma said fishing is becoming harder everyday as the weed spreads from one end of the lake to the another.
Auma, who comes from the Central Landing Beach of the lake, said fish in the lake have increased but it is impossible to access them.
This, he said, has made the prices of fish to double in the last two months.
“Fishing has become near impossible. The government should control the spread of the hyacinth before the lake becomes inaccessible,” Rosemary Achieng, the network’s secretary said.
2012 The Star