Fresh warning against fishing with chemicals
Government experts have warned that chemicals used by unscrupulous fishermen could cause serious diseases and lead to death. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
- Apart from depleting stocks, poisonous drug increases risks of cancer, say experts
Chemicals used by unscrupulous fishermen could cause serious diseases and lead to death, government experts warned on Wednesday.
They cited Endosulfan, an insecticide used on crops such as tea, coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, rice and grains which is banned in several countries including Kenya.
Nyanza provincial director of medical services Ojwang’ Lusi said the chemical killed living organisms in the environment and interfered with the ecosystem.
“When the ecosystem is affected, there is a new level of survival by surrounding living organisms that are to be established and this takes a long time,” said Dr Lusi.
He said that some of the immediate effects on human beings included gastro-intestinal problems such as diarrhoea, vomiting and chronic abdominal pain.
At risk, he said, are pregnant women who are advised to feed on fish protein. The fish caught using chemicals causes congenital abnormalities where some women might deliver babies with abnormally big heads.
The doctor suspected that chemical fish harvesting might be the cause of increased cancer cases in the region.
The experts said the chemical is marketed by different companies under different names, among them, Thiodan, Redsun, Agrosulfan, Cyclodan, Endocel, Endoson, Hildan, Endosol, Endomil and E-sulfan.
Most countries banned the use of Endosulfan as an insecticide because of the high toxicity that caused environmental degradation and deaths of animals and humans.
India banned the chemical on the ground that it had caused birth defects and was responsible for high cases of cancer.
Nyanza provincial fisheries director Mike Obadha said he was not aware of chemical fishing in Lake Victoria.
“I am aware of the use of illegal fishing gear in the region and we are using lobby groups like Magnam Environmental Network (MEN) to curb the rise of this type of fishing,” said Mr Obadha.
Fingerlings killed
According to MEN chairman Michael Nyaguti, a study on the chemical used illegally for fishing shows that a drop can kill hundreds of fish.
“The chemical when dropped in the water suffocates the fish and the fishermen come and collect them when they float. The saddest thing is that even the fingerlings are killed,” he said.
Beach Management Unit secretary Henry Omondi said the agency did not accept fish harvested using the poisonous chemical, therefore, the culprits sell the fish directly to traders.
“When fish is caught using the chemical, it changes colour. It becomes reddish and its gills bleed profusely,” Mr Omondi added.
“Sometimes, most fishermen catch only three fish yet you find one with more than 400 fish. In such cases, we have to carefully observe the fish,” he indicated.
