The price of fish has doubled in Naivasha in the last month because of the increase of water hyacinth in Lake Naivasha. A 2kg fish now sells for Sh500 from Sh250 a month ago, with fishing in the lake dropping by over 30 per cent.
Fishermen said they have lost thousands of money because the weed destroys their nets. "There is a high demand for the fish against the low supply. This has seen the cost of fish rise in the last one month," said Vincent Kinyua, a fisheries officer.
Kinyua said fishermen may lose thier source of income if no measures are put in place to check the spread of the weed.
"The lake's water level has risen sharply but the gains have been affected by the weed which hampers movement in the lake," Kinyua said.
Kinyua is however optimistic that fish in the lake could multiply if the weed is eradicated. Despite the hyacinth, fishermen in the lake collected Sh2.78 million from a catch of 32,908kgs in September.
"The catches are impressive though we feel that the production would have been higher were it not for the weed," he said. Lucas Atieno, the chairman of the Central Landing beach, asked the government to destroy the weed urgently.
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