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{
    "id": 555168,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/555168/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Prof.) Nyikal",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. Fishing as an industry is extremely important in this country. It is important for the welfare of people who are involved. It creates a lot of jobs for many young people in the areas where fishing takes place. It is a major source of income for the country. There is a lot of exportation of fish and, therefore, it brings in a lot of foreign exchange to the country. At the same time, this is an industry that has been exposed to a lot of exploitation, exploitation of the people who are involved in the industry. Where I come from, it is a known fact that the people who are involved in fishing are poor. These fishermen go out the whole night. They sleep out there and come in the morning. It is unfortunate that they remain poor while the middlemen who come in the morning with their refrigerated vehicles get rich at their expense. Therefore, there is need to see to it that the development and the management of fish and fishing gives these people an advantage in life. They deserve that because of the work that they do. There is also massive exploitation of the fishing areas. Lake Victoria, Lake Naivasha, the shores of Indian Ocean and Lake Turkana are likely to run out of stock unless something is done with regard to surveillance and regulation of fishing. The situation is particularly bad in Lake Victoria, where the popular Tilapia is dwindling. Therefore, there is need for some regulation. The lack of structures for regulation, management, development and even research to improve methods of fishing is a big handicap in the fishing industry. I, therefore, support this Bill that has established a lot of structures. There is the Kenya Fishing Services Advisory Council, Kenya Fishing Services Board, and the Fish Marketing Board. We also have the Fish Research and Development Fund that has been put in place. These are extremely important institutions. This Bill will go a long way in helping the fishermen in terms of regulation, protection of the breeding areas, fish trading and improvement of aquaculture. Somebody had indicated earlier that it has always been thought that fish is an industry only in the areas around the lake and the sea, but we know that with the new methods of aquaculture, fish can be a major income earner in all areas of this country. In fact, in the former Central Province, most of the people never used to eat fish. They considered them to be snakes! However, fishing now is a thriving industry. That goes to indicate that with new techniques, we can go a long way in producing fish for our own consumption and for export. The traditional fishing methods have stopped yielding adequate returns for the people who are involved. Therefore, we need to move into new areas of fishing that can improve returns."
}