Fish cage culture in Lake Victoria (Kenya): Fisher community perspectives on the impacts and benefits for better sustainable management

Abstract

Aquaculture is the future bridging gap for the declining capture fisheries and currently the fish cage culture in Lake Victoria (Kenya) is on the increase according to the recent overview surveys of 2016-2017. To date, the majority of aquaculture practices have had few adverse effects on ecosystems. However, due to the potential positive and negative impacts, there are varied opinions on the actual social impacts and threats on the lake ecosystem. The fisher community perspectives on the nascent and growing technology on culture of Nile tilapia since it’s onset in 2005 were assessed using 4 selected sites. Both structured questionnaire and socio-economic activities along the fish landing beaches on Lake Victoria, Kenya were used, based on the presence of beach management units (BMUs), fishing and potential for cage activities; to assess the respondent’s perception on and attitudes towards new fish cage culture method. Few people are involved in cage culture activities, being a relatively new technology. Results from 78 randomly selected respondents from 4 sites of Ngore, Ragwe, Sindo and Nyandiwa beaches showed that fishing and fish trading were the main types of occupation. All the respondents have used and benefited from fish and fishery products for between 1 and 46 years, with a mean of 11 (±8) years. Among the notable positive impacts includes creation of employment opportunities throughout the fish value chain; and development of new and improved rural infrastructure, and road networks along the lake coastal zones. Potential impacts and advantages of cage farming over other fish culture methods are highlighted. From the preliminary socioeconomic surveys data and distribution of cages, valuable measures that management agencies should consider are outlined to support sustainable investment and development of cage culture in Lake Victoria.