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East Africa: Water Hyacinth Threat to EAC
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East African Business Week (Kampala)
27 August 2007
Posted to the web 27 August 2007
John David
Kisumu
East African economies are staring at yet another crisis in the face following the resurgence of the noxious water hyacinth weed in Lake Victoria.
The weed is already choking fishing activities and is threatening to paralyse transport operations in an affront that could dent performance of the two key sectors which play integral roles in the development of economies in the Lake Victoria basin.
A survey by the East African Business Week across the lake found that transport business had been greatly hampered and fishing activities substantially reduced after the weed formed a thick carpet on the water surface.
Signs that trade between the three riparian states could suffer the hardest knock were evident after major ports recorded reduced cargo traffic due to inaccessibility.
In Kenya, at the Kisumu Port, both cargo and passenger ships have been forced to suspend operations after it became impossible to navigate through the thick weed.
"Transport here has been greatly affected and we are exploring all the available options to ensure we return to business as usual," Mr. Vitalis Leo the head of the Kisumu Pier told Business Week.
The situation was not any different in Mwanza, Tanzania where transport of cargo has been greatly hampered.
Both ports had recorded a sharp decrease in cargo volumes.
The fishing industry, which is also a major revenue earner for the three states from exports to the European Union markets, is also bearing the brunt from reduced catch volumes.
Most fishing vessels unable to navigate through the weed have grounded operations and the effects are trickling into the market where there is already a crunch for the commodity.
The net effect could see reduced volumes of fish exports to the lucrative EU markets thus denying the states the much needed revenue.
Kampala's Port Bell seems the luckier of the three main docking places.
However a couple of weeks ago the weed was seen lurking near the pier at Kampala's main lake port.
Locally, there is already a shortage of fish that has seen prices surge to alarming levels putting it out of reach for many.
Fish prices had increased by about 100 per cent and was retailing at Ksh 210 (US$3) up from Ksh100 ($1.5).
"Very few fishing vessels can venture deep into the lake, the result has seen low catch volumes and even the local market is already starving," said Mr Mike Ogonda, a large scale fisherman in Kisumu.
Experts are now warning of tough times ahead for the sectors unless fresh interventions are urgently taken to stem the spread of the weed. Dr Richard Abila, a director at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute said the weed could have a direct impact on the survival of Nile Perch and Tilapia which are on high demand in the global market for their skin and fillet.
"As much these two species could be breeding under the weed, they could be dying in droves from suffocation due to lack of proper oxygen flow and that is major threat," said Dr.Abila. According to the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO), the regions fisheries body, the three states rake in excess of $100 million in revenue annually mainly from exports to the global market. However, these gains could be sliced further should the weed continue spreading its roots across Lake Victoria, the worlds' second largest fresh water lake.
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Besides, the economic lifeline of some 24 million East Africans who directly depend on the lake for survival could also be on the line.
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| Copyright © 2007 East African Business Week. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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