Governors in Kenya have supported cage fishing, saying it had the potential to bridge the supply-and-demand gap for fish in the country.
In a joint statement, Council of Governors said on Saturday that although fish production in Lake Victoria had continued to decline since 2002, use of strong, durable, and non-toxic materials to construct cages would improve fish farming.
Cage farming and other systems of aquaculture have the potential to bridge the gap between demand and supply of fish in Kenya, the statement said.
It added: Although there is some information available on cage culture in Kenya, it may be an overlooked asset in the aquaculture sector.
They made the remarks during the commissioning of projects worth Sh700 million in Kisumu by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The governors also resolved to review and lower tax bands on aquaculture inputs to attract investment in the blue economy, improve revenue generation, streamline and harmonise fisheries licensing and revenue flows.
They further resolved to have the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries get an allocation of three per cent of the total national budget for the development of the aquaculture and fisheries sector.
According to statistics from the Kenya Fisheries Service, total fishery and aquaculture production in the country amounted to 146,543 tonnes last year.
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