Avoid overloading your boats, fishermen told

Fishermen in Siaya County have been advised to desist from overloading during their fishing expeditions.

West Uyoma Beach Management Unit Network Chairman, Alfred Odhiambo Anyango, said that most fishermen have the habit of carrying excess fish to get more money, and this puts their lives at risk.

He said those dealing in small fish, dagaa, are notorious when it comes to overloading. Anyango, therefore, appealed to boat owners to talk to the dagaa fishers to avert the imminent loss of lives.

Anyango cited two recent cases where fishermen lost their lives due to overloading of their vessels at Kombe and Misori beaches. The Chairman warned that fishermen should place a higher premium on lives, than they on the profit from their trade.

The menace has not been restricted to fishing boats, as passenger boats have also been found guilty of overloading. Anyango regretted that many passenger boats have been capsizing because of ferrying excess passengers.

In June, five fishermen died in separate occasions during expeditions in Lake Naivasha after their boats capsized.

Nakuru County’s Chief Agriculture Officer, Purity Muritu, attributed the five deaths to ignorance and failure to obey the set rules and regulations.

The incident led to the introduction of a Bill in the county assembly seeking to formally ban night fishing on the lake.

To address the issue, the county government also bought 100 safety jackets for fishermen.

This comes even as the World Wide Fund for nature (WWF) 2015 report, released yesterday, stated that populations of marine life have reduced -on average- by 50% globally in the last four decades.

Speaking during the launch of the report in Kwale County, WWF Africa Deputy Regional Director Helena Motta said the findings spell out serious challenges for all nations-especially communities in the developing countries.

“Meaningful changes need to be taken to ensure abundant ocean life for future generations. This report provides a picture of the state of oceans globally. In the space of one generation, human activities continue to negatively affect oceans,” she said.

The report indicates that species essential to commercial and subsistence fishing may be suffering the greatest decline.