Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 638717,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/638717/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 552,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, fisheries is a county function while fishing is a national function. It is hard to draw the border between fisheries and fishing. There is need in this Bill to define what fisheries and fishing are, so that we can delineate the responsibilities to the two levels of Government. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Bill was drafted at a time when devolution was not envisaged. However, since we are devolved, it is important as suggested by my colleague Sen. Sijeny that it recognizes the function of counties. Counties should play a bigger role in fisheries and fishing because most of the fish farming is done there. We should allocate more responsibilities to the counties. This is an important Bill because it seeks to establish so many organizations. We already have a research institution. There is envisaged to be established a marketing organization here. However, in the spirit of trying to reduce these organizations, it is important that we collapse some of them in the Bill into one. Apart from the Lake Victoria, Lake Turkana and Lake Naivasha fishing authorities, in the past, the Government has done a lot to encourage fish farming. However, the biggest problem is that we have encouraged fish farming and people have gone into it, but there is no market. It is encouraging that this Bill seeks to establish a marketing authority to promote marketing of fish from farmers. We also need to ensure that fishing is financed because we do not seem to have a financial institution that caters for fishermen. The Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) caters for agricultural activities. There is need for us to have a financial institution to cater for the fishing industry. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, research is very important in any economic activity, particularly in the agricultural sector. I know that we have a research institution, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI) that deals in fish. The Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries had an opportunity to visit them in Mombasa. We realized that this organization is starved of funds. They are underfunded. They are unable to carry out research in order to conserve our fisheries. We also realized that most of the researchers in that institution are aged yet we have young people. Most of the researchers will retire in the next few years. It is important that adequate resources are allocated to this sector. The other issue that needs to be looked at and seems not to have been captured in this Bill is fish for sport. Right from the colonial period, this country is rich in fishing grounds for sport. This is an area where we can grow tourism. We have rivers from Mt. Kenya, Cherangany Hills and Mt. Elgon. A river like Suam, for instance, has clean water suitable for trout; this had been done in the colonial times. There are sportsmen who are interested in going to fish there just for sport. However, there has not been any effort to conserve that resource. Also deep sea fishing for sport is an area that we should encourage. This has not been captured. I believe that, at the appropriate stage, perhaps the Committee Stage, this will be considered so that fishermen who do it for sport are also encouraged and facilitated to do so. Those rivers should be conserved for that purpose. We need to conserve the environment and the rivers to be clean so that they can be a good habitat for The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}