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Prices of fish triple in Kenya as shortage bites
KENYA - The price of fish has shot up following a serious shortage. Nyanza and Coast provinces, the largest producers of fish, are grappling with a biting shortage that has seen prices triple.The price of fish has shot up following a serious shortage. Nyanza and Coast provinces, the largest producers of fish, are grappling with a biting shortage that has seen prices triple.
The situation has seen a 60 per cent increase in prices and could render thousands of fishermen and traders jobless.
Exports to Europe
Fishing earns about Sh7 billion, mainly from fish exports to the European Union.
Fisheries officials have warned of tougher times ahead unless the weed's growth is checked and the situation in Somalia stabilises in the next few months.
Poverty, estimated at 57 per cent in the lake and coastal regions, is likely to go up and environmental degradation could worsen as fishing communities search for alternative sources of livelihood.
Most fishermen in the lake have abandoned their nets and gone into farming because the weed, which covers the water, has made fishing almost impossible.
And many families living on the lake shores have removed fish from their menu.
Kisumu town, known for its delicious tilapia dishes, is learning to do with other meals because of the shortage.
Fish is fast disappearing from hotel menus and residents have resorted to other dishes such as chicken and beef.
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Source: allAfrica.com
