“Ring nets carry everything away”.
The ring net was brought here to Kenya, that is good, that is progress but these nets work against the regulations so certain fish species have been lost. Before these nets came the ocean was good. Fish were so many before, the fishing environment has been destroyed by ringnets. The visitors who have become many in our ocean have contributed to the destruction, they have come dragging their nets. The Wapembas come (Wapemba-“of Pemba”, people from the Zanzibari Island of Pemba, in this case the fishermen who migrate over towards the Kenyan coast to fish).
Before the Wapembas the ocean was ok, they have brought disaster, there is nothing to fish. The Wapemba they fish each and every reef, destructive fishing, they are breaking the corals with the nets. They are not like Kenyans, they throw dead fish back into the sea that they have caught, they can catch too much and can’t transport them all. This is [the] Kenyan’s ocean not theirs. These foreigners don’t have the licences needed to fish here, when the coast guard patrols they hide in Gazi, when there is no patrol you can see Wapemba boats all over. There were no problems in the ocean before, you could get fish onshore, in the intertidal zone, you could catch tuna, bonito and kingfish there- now no way. The fish stay out far, they ran away. They are fishing at night, they clear everything. These foreigners have completely destroyed the ocean, especially the ring net fishers. They have spoiled fishing and they spoil the environment and particularly the coral reefs which are breeding grounds and fish refuges. When their big nets, which have small mesh sizes, get stuck on the reef one fisher dives down and hammers the coral to release it. They are in big vessels, 30 people or so, while local people are in canoes and outriggers. Their ring nets should not be cast so close to the shore, they drag everything, even our traps. Destruction and displacement. Income has declined due to the reduced catches that the Wapemba have cleared out. Msambweni fishers are suffering because of the Wapembas, because of them the ocean has no fish. They are hurting fishing and trading activities here, they also hurt food retail as if fishermen don’t land anything they don’t have cash to come and eat. Ring nets are the cause of our hunger. Won’t hunger prevail? We could have removed them a long time ago but it has been impossible because they are in the hands of the Government, they are with the leaders, thus we cannot get them out
We need support to face them, they are foreigners. They should go and fish in the areas they are meant to, the deep sea. The BMU (Beach Management Units), officers and organizations, NGOs need to sit down, to cooperate. The ring nets need to be removed so small-scale fishers can get fish. The Government needs to intervene with awareness, they need to act and not just lip service. The Navy needs to be deployed to arrest the ring net users, people cannot follow them alone because they can hurt you.
FoRel 