Managers of beach hotels in Homa Bay County have petitioned the Senate to regulate the establishment of fish cages in Lake Victoria, saying their proliferation is restricting tourists’ access to the lake and threatening recreational activities.

The petition, presented in the Senate by 10 individuals representing various beach hotels, resorts and eco-tourism facilities in Mbita and Rusinga Township, cites a range of challenges they attribute to fish cage operators, which they say are undermining tourism.

Cage farming involves setting up a netted enclosure that is suspended in the lake with fish fingerlings enclosed in it. The fish are fed and tended to in the enclosure. The harvesting cycle for caged fish is about one year per cage.

Fishermen harvest fish from cages in Lake Victoria off Nyagina Beach on Rusinga Island, Homa Bay County, on May 16, 2025.

Photo credit: George Odiwuor I Nation Media Group

The petitioners said the cages have restricted access to sections of the lakefront, previously used by visitors for recreation.

They also claimed that the cages have altered water quality in some areas, affecting aquatic life and diminishing the overall experience for tourists.

The hospitality industry operators argued that the unregulated placement of cages near resorts, public beaches and transport routes was undermining efforts to promote the Western Tourism Circuit.

Homa Bay has one of the largest concentrations of fish cages in Lake Victoria, with most of them located in Suba North and Suba South.

In their petition, the operators raised concern about cages in Mbita, Mfangano Island, Rusinga Island, Sindo, Gingo and Ngodhe Island in Lake Victoria.

Homa Bay County Fisheries Department said that investors are required to notify the administration through a concept paper for approval. The investors are required to provide details such as the number of cages they intend to establish, the species of fish to be reared, and other factors that could affect water quality.

“The lake has been mapped and specific areas identified to have suitable ecological conditions for cage fish farming. It is these areas where investors are told to put their cages,” Homa Bay County Executive Committee Member for Blue Economy, Fisheries, Mining and Digital Economy, Ms Sarah Malit, said in an earlier interview.

Other approvals involve the local beach management units and the National Environment Management Authority before an investor can obtain a licence to operate fish cages.

As wild fish stocks continue to decline due to climate change, pollution, the destruction of marine habitats and overpopulation, most of the fish consumed in the country is now reared in cages.

The petitioners; Magdalene Munyau, Joseph Osunga, Bernard Mbeo, Michael Ochieng, Brian Odinga, Samuel Okudo, Everlyne Achila, Stephen Ouma, Suleiman Okeyo and Felix Otieno said that they recognised the potential of aquaculture as an economic driver in Kenya.

However, they argued that the growing practice of placing industrial fish cages in Lake Victoria without adequate regulation was affecting the lake’s ecosystem and called for stronger controls.

In the petition, they said the negative effects of cage farming were undermining the potential of local tourism and threatening public health, particularly where cages have been placed in proximity to hotels and resorts along the lakefront.

Aquaculture 2-Online — Fish cages on a section of Lake Victoria. More fish enterprises in Kenya have ventured into cage fish farming as a viable business model.

“Affected residents, investors, fishermen and transporters have suffered the extremely challenging conditions characterised by contamination of water, which compromises equality and standards as a result of organic waste generated from the cages, thus violating Article 42 of the Constitution of Kenya,” read part of the petition.

Some business operators said their clients could no longer enjoy unrestricted access to the lake, which they described as an infringement of riparian access rights and a barrier to legitimate recreational use of the water.

They said the congestion created by the cages had also increased the risk of boat accidents, particularly at night, affecting lake transport.

“It interferes with the fish breeding grounds, leading to dwindling stocks of free-range tilapia and Nile perch, which has largely affected small-scale fishermen’s major source of income,” read part of the petition.

The petitioners further argued that fish cages were destroying the potential for recreational water tourism by blocking areas used for boat rides, swimming, sport fishing, jet skiing, cruises and lakeside dining.

The document also cited severe visual and aesthetic pollution, as well as unpleasant odours, in some sections of the lake.

“For example, cages erected in bays like Ngodhe permanently contaminate the water, given limited circulation of currents for natural water purification. Prevalence of waterborne diseases in the lake region, considering that the residents use the same lake for water for domestic use,” the document read.

Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, who presented the petition before his colleagues last week, said residents of Rusinga and business operators were concerned that failure to introduce effective controls and regulatory measures would undermine the national government’s efforts, through the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Board of Kenya, to promote the Western Tourism Circuit, particularly around Lake Victoria.

Fish farming — Farmers harvest fish from cages at Lake Victoria off the shores of Ugambe beach in Bondo, Siaya County on February 5, 2019.

The petitioners further claimed that the placement of cages in the lake had violated Articles 19 and 42 of the Constitution, relating to public participation and stakeholder involvement in important decisions affecting livelihoods, as well as the right to a clean environment.

Residents of Rusinga said their efforts to have relevant authorities regulate commercial fish farming had yielded little success.

“We have made the best efforts to have the matter addressed by the relevant authorities, including the State Department of Fisheries and Blue Economy, the County Department of Fisheries and Livestock and the Association of Cage Farmers, all of which have failed to give a satisfactory response,” read part of the document.

The petition calls on the Senate to investigate the matter, examine the current approval process and regulatory requirements governing the establishment of commercial fish cages in Lake Victoria, and determine the level of compliance by relevant regulatory bodies.

The investigation will also examine compliance with the applicable legal and regulatory framework on licensing, environmental impact assessments and corporate social responsibility.

The hotel operators want the Senate to consider designating exclusive industrial aquaculture zones, while ensuring meaningful public participation and stakeholder engagement, particularly involving beach management units and other users of the lake.

They also want legislators to assess the effects of unregulated fish cage farming and recommend the removal or relocation of cages currently anchored in areas operated by licensed beachfront hotels and resorts, public water transport routes and public beaches.