Kenya: Fishing experts push for new tools to increase production

Fishing experts are pushing for new techniques to rescue Kenya’s dwindling production to cut on Chinese imports as government finalises regulations. Victory Farms Chief Aquaculture Officer Steve Moran says relying on the wild catch technique is no longer sustainable having dropped by between 70 to 90 percent in the last 15 years. Kenya has an estimated annual fish deficit of up to 400,000 tonnes, with every citizen consuming between four kilos annually against a global average of 12 kilos. ALSO READ: Why Kenya still imports deep sea fishing experts This shortage has seen the country import fish from as far as China to meet the demand despite being home to one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. An initiative dubbed Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP) which is funded by the Ministry of Fisheries has enabled farmers to increase fish supply. ABDP coordinator in Homa Bay Michael Omondi said the county supplies 40,000 kilos of fish from ponds annually. He said ...