Homa Bay Fishermen Now Fishers of Plastics

Fishermen from beaches along Homa Bay’s Lake Victoria have decried a reduced number of fish from their fishing activities in the recent past, attributing the same to increased pollution in the lake.

The fishermen, specifically from Lela Beach, said their efforts are bearing less fruit, and they fish more plastics than fish whenever they cast their nets.

George Anyango, who was speaking on behalf of the Lela beach fishermen, said that during times when there’s an increase in water amounts in the lake, more plastics are swept into the lake.

“When we come back from fishing and get out our catch, we find more plastic in the net than the expected fish,” Anyango decried.

He appealed to the government to help them start an initiative to get the plastic out of the water body and to the members of the public to stop plastic littering around the lake.

“I would ask the county government to come up with an initiative to help get these plastics out of the water and impose penalties to those who drop plastics anyhow,” Anyango beseeched.

Plastics take too long to decompose

According to Willis Omulo, an environmentalist in Homa Bay County, plastics take too long to decompose, and if it does, the fish eat them and humans also eat the fish, something that has deteriorated human health in a larger percentage.

“Plastics are made from petrol, and their lifespan is 1000 years. When they break down into microbes and microfiber, they confuse fish for their feed. The fish then eat them, and we eat the fish also,” explained Omulo.

He went further to notify that according to his surveys, humans eat a SIM card-size plastic every day, adding that the ban of plastics that was imposed by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has not been effective in Homa Bay due to reasons such as corruption and inadequate reinforcement.

“If anyone can take a walk around Joma Bay town, they’ll find at least a blockage in the drainage systems that is filled three-quarters by plastic. This means that the plastic ban has not taken any effect in Homa Bay town,” Omulo affirmed.

He urged the leaders of all departments in the county of Homa Bay to create laws that govern waste management.

Joon.co.ke sought a word from the acting director of environment and forestry in Homa Bay county, Stacy Otieno, who admitted that the county has recorded cases of fish death that could be attributed to indiscriminate dumping of plastics.

Fish deaths recorded

“Our county and the country at large has recorded cases of fish deaths, something that would be as a result of careless dumping of plastics as well as upwelling of the lake,” Otieno noted.

She, however, assured that several initiatives have been put in place to help in taking care of the environment, mentioning sensitization as one of the ways that has helped change the attitude of individuals towards environmental conservation.

“The county government of Homa Bay had launched monthly cleanup within the five municipalities in the county, which has had a great impact in our piers and markets. I can say the pier and the lakefront of Homa Bay have been completely cleaned,” said Otieno.

Homa Bay County lies within over 67 per cent of the lakefront of Lake Victoria, which has suffered a lot from indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste.