The Kilifi county government has embarked on digging water pans and also training and supporting small holder fishermen in the region. – By Ramadhan Kambi.
The move according to county chief officer in charge of Fisheries Stephen Mwakai Mwakiti is meant to make sure fishermen stop their over dependence on the ocean for fishing.
Addressing reporters in Kilifi town, Mr Mwakiti said fishermen at the Coast have for decades depended on the ocean but due to climate change and other environmental impacts, the size of fish catch has been dwindling as years goes by.
“We have come with an alternative way of training our people on best fishing practices and also breed this delicacy at their homes. People now like fish breed in homes because they are delicious and easy bred. As fisheries department, we have started digging fish ponds and also show the communities how to breed the fish locally,” said Mr Mwakiti.
He said that the training has been extended to local schools and within the community so that the residents can engage in the fishing business for prosperity.
“We have dams and big water pans in this region, used only as livestock watering points and for local community water use. So we decided as a department to stock them with fish and this program has seen at least 15 dams fully stocked,” he said.
The county he said has also built a lab that will be used to breed fish fingerlings that will be distributed to fish farmers in the entire county.
“The lab will be for producing fingerlings to be freely distributed to the residents. The community engagement will be only feeding the fish to grow and sell for their own benefit,” said Mr Mwakiti.
Currently there are about 500 fish farmers in Kilifi who are in need of our support including training them. Most of these farmers he said are growing fish but are in need of training.
“Most of these farmers need trainings for them to engage fully in the fishing business. In this year, we have received a request to stock 72 water pans in Kilifi South which needs us as Kilifi county government to stock them. We are in the process of stocking them,” he added.
