Even more absurd, Uhuru Kenyatta's administration dispatched members of the Coast Guard to patrol the lake and seize the illicit nets. Political desperation to turn things around these days is real. Yet, saving the lake calls much more than just military involvement or the continuous intimidation of Migingo fishermen by Yoweri Museveni's security forces.I've noticed that conversations about Lake Victoria's declining catches tend to sidestep the awful details of what transpired.
During her vetting, the Principal Secretary in charge of fisheries, Ms Betsy Njagi, primarily spoke about pollution in Lake Victoria, which to me is an easier problem.
Salim Mvurya, the cabinet secretary, too has this difficulty. So, let's address the major issue at hand: In 1954, somebody introduced the Nile perch into Lake Victoria, which had its indigenous fish species.
The native species of this lake, known as Mbuta in Dholuo, had stabilized in the preceding 17,000 years as a result of the lake's periodic drying up and refilling.
Nile perch, also known as Mbuta in Dholuo, were not native to this lake. Yet, the need for fish for European markets and sports has now resulted in an ecological catastrophe, a worry that has not received enough attention.
Environmental journals have been debating how the food chain in Lake Victoria has changed over time. Experts who aren't hiding their heads in the sand claim that the Nile perch is to blame for the ecological catastrophe confronting Lake Victoria.
Initially, the colonial authorities attempted to encourage fisheries among populations farther from the lake by introducing the Nile perch to small ponds nearby. That was before the predator was covertly introduced to the lake in 1954 by colonial agents in Uganda.
Even when researchers from the Food and Agricultural Organization reported that many fingerlings had made its way into the lake, there doesn't appear to have been a documented warning. We are aware that biologists, particularly those in Kenya, publicly opposed the intentional introduction of a predator into the lake.
The Ugandan fisheries department once more overrode scientific advice and the objections of its Kenyan and Tanzanian colleagues in 1959 and added more Nile perch to the lake. Moreover, records show that 339 fingerling fish were placed into the lake in September 1963 after 35 fish with lengths ranging from 16.0 to 43.5 cm were introduced in May 1962.
They were transported from Lake Albert in Uganda. In 1963, eight Lake Turkana fish kinds were added, increasing the total to 382. The introduction of several non-native fish was another experiment carried out in the 1950s, but it appears that only the Nile tilapia survived.
Lake Victoria was naturally protected from this predator in the past because the Kabalega and Owen Falls prevented the Nile perch from getting to the lake.
Now, Owen Falls and the adjoining Rippon Falls are no longer there because they were flooded in 1953 while a power station was being built in Jinja. But a mistake by a person has permitted the Nile to rise
To the surprise of biologists, the Nile perch population soared in the 1980s. In addition, scientists claim that the lake underwent modifications as it transitioned from its former "oligotrophic condition" — a lake with clean waters and little sediment — to its present "eutrophic state" — a polluted lake with a lot of plant life. More fish perish in this later condition. They are now enquiring as to why Nile Perch took 20 years to ascend to this position of dominance.
All other species' biomass had drastically decreased by the year 1984, while Nile perch's had increased. Moreover, several species have vanished or gone extinct.While the commercialization of the lake and the development of a thriving fishing business around the predator were brought about by the introduction of the Nile perch, the question of what the predator would eat once it had gained dominance was never addressed. It was also unpopular.
"This form of fish is carnivorous; it feeds on other smaller fish to the extent that the other smaller species, such as tilapia, also known as ngege, can scarcely be found," then-Natural Resources Minister Odongo Omamo said in 1982 when posing the matter to Parliament. Omamo bemoaned that because Nile perch accumulates so much fat, "no one wants to eat it when it is caught. I would like to request the Ministry of Health to develop a more palatable method of preparing nile perch.
Omamo was worried about the replacement of the local fish culture. Even worse, an entire economy may collapse. The Nile perch, which could weigh 130 kilograms, was smaller.
A research conducted by Leiden University in 1985 raised alarms and offered data suggesting that Lake Victoria will experience a catastrophe. Australia wants to introduce Nile perch to one of its lakes at that time. The Lake Victoria study led to the cancellation of the idea.
It is still unknown how many species have vanished from the lake, although some scientists have questioned how the Nile perch coexisted with tilapia without seriously disrupting the food chain in Lake Turkana, Lake Albert, and Lake Chad.The New Scientist attempted to justify the enormous fish in 1988 by quoting some biologists who blamed "overfishing with fine-meshed nets" as the additional offender. Sadly, since there isn't much that can be done about the Nile perch, we have turned to the myth of nets and overfishing.
If you've been wondering why Kisumu's tilapia prices are so high, this monster and other pollution-related concerns are to blame.
Adding insult to injury, colonial outlaw and master of sarcasm Ewart Grogan said in a 1919 speech upon Gen. Northey's arrival in Nairobi: "Before we get down to doing business with you sir, before we tabulate to you all our innumerable woes of the last 14 years, we are entitled to know whether you have been sent here as another telephone exchange girl... This nation does not want to be ruled by secretariat officers, who have less intelligence than organisms that live at the ocean's bottom. We seek individuals with expansive vision.
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