How Lake Victoria fishers are edging themselves out of business

When reports emerged recently that some fish firms in Kisumu were importing stocks from China for sale locally, the reactions were swift with some leaders from western Kenya even terming it economic sabotage given the town’s proximity to Lake Victoria — the world’s second largest fresh water lake by surface area, after Lake Superior in North America.

A review of the Lake Victoria fish industry, however, shows that the Chinese fish imports only confirmed a sector in crisis, battling a myriad environmental and economic challenges.