Fish farmers in Kenya are still in recovery mode after millions of fish mysteriously died in the latter part of 2022, contributing to losses of around $11.4m.

The SF spoke to fish farmer, Kiddy Oduya, who runs a business feeding 5000 tilapia – a globally recognised freshwater food fish – in a cage system in Lake Victoria, a stone’s throw from his local village of Nyagowa.

“We harvest and sell our fish around December, to tie in with the influx of people coming back from urban areas to their rural homes,” said Oduya. “But just before Christmas, we woke up one morning to find all of our fish had died.

“It was devastating, as we were just about to sell, and we lost everything. We were not alone, cage farmers within 200km, even further, were affected and most of their fish were killed.”

Oduya explained that research was carried out by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute proved it was likely to be caused by ‘upwelling’, due to water temperatures reaching 28°C, oxygen levels dropping and an increase in suspended sediments.

When asked whether he was concerned by global temperatures rising, he explained that fish farmers in the region face numerous threats to their business, adding that poaching was particularly rife ahead of harvesting time and that water hyacinth populations can sometimes smother his cages and kill off his fish.

“Hyacinth are like giant weeds in the lake which amass together and sometimes can stretch as wide as two football pitches,” he explained. “Depending on where the wind is coming from, these weeds can sweep in unexpectedly and block the fish from breathing and everything dies. They clear everything in their path and sometimes turn our cage upside down – they are unstoppable.”

Oduya has just bought fish for the first time after a couple of months of nervously waiting to decide whether or not to start feeding again and shared his relief that life was mostly back to normal for now.

As well as fish farming, Oduya also works as a DJ, 350km from his village, in the city of Nairobi, which provides another income for his family. Although he has managed to absorb the fish losses from Christmas, he said that for many other fish farmers, their businesses haven’t made it through.

“Most people gave up fishing as they had lost everything and some had taken out loans or sold their assets to put against their businesses, believing fish farming was a lucrative venture,” he continued, explaining that he buys in fishlings at around 5s each and sells them at one year old for around 200s or the equivalent of $2. He pointed out that rearing 5000 fish and selling them on for $10,000 is a huge amount of money for Kenya.

“Fish farming can bring in good money, but it is not without its challenges and now there are many more people who are cage farming like me, which has saturated the market and driven down prices.”

He told The SF that he planned to continue working in fish farming, as he has a real passion for fish but he has his eyes on a new opportunity.

“I still believe in my business but at some point, I want to have my own nursery raising fingerlings, as currently there are only two other people doing that. It makes a lot of sense as there are so many cage farmers, and it will provide a more stable future for my family,” he said.