The present fish production from the Lake is estimated by the Fisheries Department at approximately 850 tons per annum. Most of this fish is eaten by the fishermen and their families, total sales to others probably not exceeding 120 tons in fresh fish equivalent.
The expert estimates the total catch potentials between 50,000 and 160,000 tons of fish per annum. The Lake area has been estimated at 2,775 square miles; due to flooding (with an increase in depth of over 20 feet since 1961), it is at present larger than this.
The estimate of potential is based on a sustained catch figure of between 20 and 60 tons per square mile. This is the range that has been estimated for the lakes in Uganda (excluding Lake Victoria). The lower limit of the range corresponds to results obtained in relatively infertile waters such as Lakes Kyoga and Wamala, the higher limit to results on more fertile water bodies such as Lake George, the northern waters of Lake Albert, and the Koki lakes.
Limnologists consider Lake Rudolf as one of the more fertile water bodies in Africa. Considering present production rates, the development potential must be considered as very substantial. As pointed out elsewhere in this report, there are local markets in the area which can be developed with little effort to absorb at least 15,000 tons of fish per annum and more if an active sales campaign is launched. Any fishery on this Lake will be a major one by African standards requiring, and worthy of, considerable investment in basic facilities such as roads, landing facilities, development staff, etc.
In Israel, and in other countries of the world, one calculates that a catch increase of 1,400 tons per annum may warrant an initial investment in boats and gear of £500,000. On Lake Rudolf, for an initial investment of £300,000, on the improvement of the road from Kitale (rail head and beginning of tarmac communications) and approximately £25,000 on other facilities, annual catches may be increased by as much as 15,000 tons. If the above-quoted ratio for Israel were valid for Lake Rudolf development, as much as £5 million would be required to achieve this production target. Once the road communications problem has been dealt with, further spending is likely to be required in due course. Since it should lead to additional significant increases in production, such further investment should give a satisfactory return on capital.
It should be safe to step up fishing effort from the present low level rate, even without intensive preliminary biological research. Accurate statistics, including data on total catch, species composition by gear, catch per unit of effort, and catch disposal, however, should be assembled from the start, and a program of statistical data collection initiated as soon as possible.
This lake of 2,775 sq. miles has remained the last major lake in East Africa to be developed. This is because of its geographical isolation, at considerable distance from the main centres of population, and the fact that agricultural enterprise, too, is lacking in the nearby area. Agricultural development would have helped to open up communications. The Lake lies in a semi-desert area in the north-west of Kenya. Loiyangalani, the main centre on its south-east coast, with a tourist lodge, airstrip, and 300 El Molo tribesmen, is 600 miles by road from Nairobi, or 470 miles from Thomson's Falls, the nearest town which is rail-served. Ferguson's Gulf, the main centre on the west coast, with two airstrips, a mission, a fisheries office, and 6,000 inhabitants - depending mainly on relief payments -is 240 miles from Kitale, the nearest sizeable town in Kenya which is rail-served. It is 45 miles from the Turkana District Headquarters at Lodwar, 150 miles from Moroto, a District Headquarters in Uganda, and 250 miles from Soroti, an important District Headquarters in Uganda and a centre of the dried fish trade through which pass some 5,000 tons of fish a year.
These distances appear to be great. In African terms, however, their importance has tended to be exaggerated when plans for the development of Lake Rudolf have been under discussion. Lake George lies 280 miles from Kampala, and Kisenyi on Lake Albert is 400 miles from the Stanleyville market it supplies. There are thriving fisheries on both lakes.
Road communications have been developed to Lake Rudolf over the past few years, mainly for administrative and security purposes. The last 45 mile road link from Ferguson's Gulf to Lodwar in the west and the last 80 miles of that to Loiyangalani in the east have, however, been neglected and remain little more than tracks negotiable only for 4-wheel drive vehicles and lorries. By improving two escarpments, a small number of river crossings on the Kitale to Lodwar stretch of road, and by bringing the road from Lodwar to Ferguson's Gulf up to the standard of the remainder of this external road link, the Lake will be opened up to communications, which are virtually of the all-weather type, with the remainder of East Africa.
Road Improvement Plans
The Fisheries Department has recognized the importance of improving the roads as being basic to any major development on Lake Rudolf. In drawing up their 1965–1970 Development proposals it included, and subsequently obtained approval of, an expenditure of £300,000 for these purposes. Work is to start in 1965 and continue into succeeding years. The initial investment of £300,000 is vital to ensure the development of an industry with an ultimate potential, at current East African prices, of at least £1½ million landed value (at £30 per ton) of catches estimated at 50,000 tons per annum at Ferguson's Gulf (landed value of £30 per ton, or a gross retail value of £1½ million, based on a price of Shs. 1/- per pound).
To enable developments to start at Loiyangalani, at least 80 miles of road improvement are required. This work should also be started at any early date. Initial sales from Loiyangalani may be estimated at 5,000 tons per annum. Subsequently, to ensure the full development of Lake Rudolf, road links will be required at Alia Bay and Ileret on the east coast. These locations already have air strips and are served by tracks to the interior. Todenyang in the north is linked by road to Lodwar. In the course of the present survey there was no time to study this road link or the potential for developing the fishing industry at Todenyang. The matter should, however, be investigated further by the Fisheries Department. At Turkwell and Kerio, schemes for the linking of the irrigation schemes to the main line of communications should include motorable road links to the two fishing settlements.
The second reason why Lake Rudolf has not developed is that the Turkana District, of which Ferguson's Gulf is a part, is for security reasons a closed district. This means that permission must be obtained from the District Commissioner before entry is allowed. Applications for entry permits must be made one month before the date of the intended journey. Notices in Kitale inform prospective visitors to the District that the roads are closed to travellers from 15 March to 15 June and from 15 October to 15 December. It is believed that this restriction has been imposed because of the rains which fall in these periods. In practice, the restriction is not enforced. The notice, however, tends to discourage travellers to the District. Also, there is an armed guard at Loiya on the Turkana District border to prevent people without passes from entering.
Because of the state of the roads, and because of the difficulties connected with obtaining permission to visit the Turkana District, fishmongers tend to go elsewhere for their fish, even if this means having to travel greater distances, to the Uganda lakes or to Tanzania, to obtain their requirements.
A final hindrance to development on Lake Rudolf is the spirit of parochialism that prevails in Turkana District. The general attitude is that the fishing potential of Lake Rudolf must be developed solely by the local population for their exclusive benefit. The Lake, however, is divided between three districts, Turkana, Samburu, and Marsabit, and it is the declared intention of the Kenya Government to develop it as rapidly as possible as a national asset. If the sentiments of the Turkana people are allowed to hold sway, full development of the Lake is going to take many years. In the past four years, 500 people from a traditionally non-fishing tribe have been taught to fish with gill-nets, taught to use boats, out-board engines, etc., but only 200 of them remain in fishing, and many of these have to be supported by gifts of nets, the free loan of boats, etc., to prevent them from abandoning the fishery. The 300 who have left fishing have gone back to their traditional pastoral life, after having obtained sufficient money to restock their herds which were decimated by the drought in 1961.
Commercial fishing on Lake Rudolf started not so long ago. Seine nets were first introduced during World War II. The Fisheries Department has no records on fishing effort or catches during those years. Subsequently fishing seems to have lapsed until 1950, when it started again with one seine net and some long-line operations at Ferguson's Gulf and a seine net operation at Aturtur. The fish were sold exclusively to the Famine Relief Camp and, locally, at Kitale. The fishery at Aturtur was discontinued after a short time but the venture at Ferguson's Gulf survived until 1961. No catch records on these operations are available in the Fisheries Department; as far as could be ascertained, no Government help or guidance was given to these fisheries.
The present commercial fisheries which use 8-inch gill-nets and long-lines were started at Ferguson's Gulf in 1962, with Government sponsorship. A Fisheries Development Officer was posted to Ferguson's Gulf. He instructed able-bodied men from the Famine Relief Camp in small boat and outboard engine operations, in gill-netting, net-making, and in the preparation of whole and filleted sun-dried fish. He also organized the sale of the fish, the bulk of which was purchased by the Government for famine relief feeding. By 1965, he had trained 500 men, 200 of whom, as mentioned above, have remained in fishing. An additional 300 charges of the Famine Relief Camp carry out subsistance fishing with plunge baskets. The operations have been all along generously financed by Oxfam, the African Inland Mission, the Christian Council for Kenya, and other charitable organizations. Great interest has been shown, and a good deal of assistance has also been given to the fishery here, by the Turkana Development Dommittee and the Provincial Administration. Much of the fishing gear and 9 out of 10 of their fishing boats have been donated outright to the fishermen by the Government or the various organizations mentioned, or loaned to them at no cost. The Kalakol Fishermen's Cooperative has recently been organized by the Ministry of Co-operatives and the African Inland Mission, to bulk the catches for onward sale from the Lake.
The following is the estimated number of fishermen at the fishing settlements on Lake Rudolf:
| (a) | Ferguson's Gulf - | 200 commercial fishermen, 90 percent using gill-nets; 10 percent using long-lines alone. 300 subsistence fisher- men using long-lines, harpoons and plunge-baskets. | |
| (b) | Kerio | } | 300 subsistence fishermen using baskets, long-lines, home- made nets. |
| (c) | Turkwell | ||
| (d) | El Molo | 300 fishermen using home-made nets (at present without floats or sinkers), and hooks. | |
| Total: | 1.100 fishermen, full or part-time | ||
In pursuance of the local objective of developing the fishery solely for the Turkana, and partly in pursuance of previously established Government policy, a fishermen's co-operative was started in 1963 at Ferguson's Gulf to market the catches of members. As the Turkana fishermen at present lack the requisite skill to run a co-operative enterprise themselves, the African Inland Mission has provided a manager for the Co-operative from an outside tribal camp and pays his salary. It also has built a store, has recently appointed an assistant manager, and provides part-time supervision by an expatriate of the activities of the organization. The Ministry of Co-operatives also has taken a keen interest in the Co-operative and has trained the manager in the principles of co-operative enterprise. The manager, however, has not received equivalent instruction in the business aspects of fish marketing. The latter are particularly difficult to master in East Africa because of the vast number of tribes and races with different dietary and culinary habits, cure preferences, seasonality of markets, etc. A manager of a marketing organization in East Africa also should know the fishing side of the business on the lakes from which the fish are taken, since occasionally, to meet the market demand for particular species, it is necessary to change the fishing method. The Co-operative is now being further assisted by the posting of two United States Peace Corps staff members who are to help in developing its activities. Between October 1964 and June 1965, the Co-operative sold 14.6 tons of dried fish to inland markets in Kenya and Uganda, grossing approximately £700 to the fishermen. An additional eighteen tons of dried fish were sold to buyers at Lodwar over the same period by the members of the Co-operative and by others.
In February and March 1965, the Co-operative, the Fisheries Department and other elements connected with the fishery felt that production was being held back because of the lack of markets, but by July 1965, the complaint was that lack of production was preventing an increase in sales.
In fact, the sales of the Co-operative increased over this period as follows:
| 2,310 | lbs. | dried | fish | in | February 1965 |
| 2,510 | " | " | " | " | March 1965 |
| 3,010 | " | " | " | " | April 1965 |
| 4,052 | " | " | " | " | May 1965 |
| 5,060 | " | " | " | " | June 1965 |
A forward order had been received by mid-year for another 4,000 lbs. of fish per month from the irrigation schemes of the Agricultural Department in the Turkana District. For the remainder of the year the total demand for fish produced by the Co-operative was estimated to be in excess of 9,000 lbs. of dried fish a month. The evidence is that sales are gathering momentum, as the fish become better known to the consumers.
The African Inland Mission which carries out day-to-day supervision of the Co-operative reports that there is now competition amongst the transporters bringing famine relief maize to the Gulf for back-loads of dried fish. This has made it possible to recently increase the price per pound paid by the Co-operative to the fishermen for dried fish from 40 cts. to 50 cts. The Co-operative in turn put up its price to the transporters from 50 cts. to 60 cts. per pound and expected that it could increase prices even further.
Sales are rising but viewed in relation to the effort and finances which have gone into organizing and supporting the society, they are insignificant.
After four years of Government support, the industry has a total volume of sales, including fish sold through all channels, of approximately 120 tons a year.
Uganda, over the same period, has developed a new fishery at Ntoroko at the south end of Lake Albert from nothing to a volume of over 3,000 tons of fish landed per annum, supporting over 500 commercial fishermen. Ntoroko is located in an equally isolated area, 300 miles from the nearest market. All that was done here was to provide a road and allow both local residents and newcomers to the area to go fishing under Government licence. Fishmongers from all areas were encouraged to develop markets. A processing factory is now being built by private enterprise, again under Government licence. The fishery at Ntoroko is booming and has relatively few problems to cope with; the fish taken there is moving into an area which could also be served by Lake Rudolf. The only Government staff required for day-to-day assistance of the industry at Ntoroko has been one Fisheries Assistant.
At Ferguson's Gulf, a very good job has been done of training the fishermen. As of late, however, more effort has gone into supporting the Co-operative and attending to its administration than into the development of markets. The main requirement for the development of the fishery has, therefore, been somewhat neglected and the result has been that the market has grown only slowly and that the whole industry, instead of being on a commercial footing by now, is still largely depending on charity for its existence.
At present, the Co-operative sells all of its catches to the few transporters who are bringing famine relief food to Ferguson's Gulf, and who require a backload. The industry has depended entirely on the ability of these few transporters to sell the fish from their base at Kitale. None of these middlemen has had prior experience in the fish business. Furthermore the transporters have been rather particular about the fish they were prepared to buy and, in practice, have confined their purchases to two high-quality fish, tilapia and Nile perch, which they were able to obtain for 50 cts. a pound for dried fillets. Transport charges from Ferguson's Gulf to Kitale add -/06 cts. a lb. Delivered cost at Kitale was therefore 56 cts. a pound for dried fillets, which is equivalent to a price of 5.6 cts.perlb., or about £5 per ton, for prime quality fresh fish. The normal lakeside price for Nile perch or tilapia in East Africa is between £30 and £50 per ton (depending on the area where they are landed). The fishermen, thus, were being paid only a small fraction of the prevailing East African price for their fish. Under free market conditions, the Co-operative would have received substantially more for their fish sales over the past nine months than they actually realized.
Because of the rejection by the transporters of all but the most readily disposable fish, the other species of fish in Lake Rudolf, especially Citharinus citharus, which forms 50 percent of the catches taken with 8-inch gill-nets, has been classified by the local industry and authorities as “trash fish”. Negotiations were under way at the beginning of 1965 to turn it into fish meal and an exclusive buying concession for one year was about to be granted to a commercial firm, which would have given the fishermen an effective 2.5 cts. per lb. for Citharinus, or £2–16 per ton. The expert pointed out that Citharinus citharus, far from being “trash fish”, was classified as prime quality fish in Uganda and in the Congo (Léopoldville) and was there in the same category as tilapia and Nile perch. To dispose of the fish was only a question of getting it to the right markets, e.g., Acholi/West Nile and other parts of Uganda. In the course of his survey, the expert subsequently found that the Turkana themselves will eat large quantities of Citharinus, and some was seen being moved to internal markets in Turkana by donkey trains. They are called locally “mfuta”, Swahili for “fat” or “oil”, which in East Africa normally indicates that a product is preferred by consumers.
The Kalakol Fishermen's Co-operative, it was noted, has been gaining more experience in fixing the prices of fish put on the market. Because of the competition amongst - even the restricted number of - buyers, the Co-operative was recently able to increase the price ex-store at Ferguson's Gulf to 60 cts. per lb. for dried fish. This price is being asked for and paid, however, regardless of whether the fish has been dried whole or has been filleted prior to drying (some of the tilapia are filleted prior to sun-drying, whilst others are merely split). On the basis of actual edible fish in the product, the price for dried tilapia fillets should be three times that of whole tilapia. Experience gained in the course of the survey showed that the African will not pay proportionately more for dried fillets, as he prefers to see what kind of fish he is eating and likes fish with bones. The filleting of tilapia for dry processing should therefore cease. The fishermen will gain by being able to sell heads, bones, and skin which are now thrown away and their income will be three times what it is at present and be brought into line with that of fishermen on other lakes.
As regards Nile perch, it is more difficult to dry these large fish whole and, no doubt, the practice of filleting must continue. In this case, an attempt should be made to obtain a premium price for the fillets. Experiments should be made, however, to see whether the perch can be dried whole, using a series of longitudinal cuts and unfolding the flesh, as is done at present with some of the large tilapia. The expert thinks the practice now used for sun-drying large Protopterus on other lakes could be followed.
There has been much discussion about the necessity to erect a fish filleting factory at Ferguson's Gulf as a pre-requisite of developing a large industry. The output of a factory of a larger size would have to be sold overseas, as the present East African market for filleted fish is very competitive and existing operators are having difficulty in selling their product. The factory also could only deal with those species of fish which are acceptable on European markets.
Discussions have also taken place on the possible installation of a canning factory. As far as is known, no canning of the species of fish that can be taken in Lake Rudolf has ever been done. To launch a canning industry would, therefore, involve long experiments to produce standard products of a taste acceptable to potential consumers, followed by a pilot market research scheme and then by a large sales campaign to launch the products in competition with those developed over the years by the larger fishing nations. The price which could be paid for fish for canning would be little better than that paid for fish meal.
In different circumstances, serious consideration might have had to be given to one of the above courses as a major requirement of Lake Rudolf fishery development. However, the expansion potential of the market for sun-dried fish in Kenya is such as to make it unnecessary to think in these terms.
Over 1,000 tons per annum of sun-dried fish and smoked fish is now being imported into Kenya from Tanzania and from Uganda. There is also a substantial import of dried fish (tilapia, deep fried in simsim oil). This fish is disposed of in two main areas:
Nyanza and Western Provinces, which are the thickly populated areas around the Kenya section of Lake Victoria, and especially at Busia, Kakamega, Yala and Bungoma. In these Provinces, the population totalled 3 million as of the 1962 Census (the population as of August 1965 was estimated at 3¼ million, based on the annual population increase rate of 3 percent).
The Nairobi/Nakuru areas, where there is an estimated population of about 150,000 fish-eating Luo and Abaluya.
(a) In the Nyanza/Western Province area the people are basically fish eaters; if they can afford and can obtain supplies, they will eat fish every day at least at one meal. Throughout the area, there are many fishmongers and each village has its fish market. At present, supplies are not matching demand. If allowance is made for fish going elsewhere, at present only approximately 12,000 tons of fish a year or 8 lbs. per head are consumed, a very low consumption rate, indeed. Moreover the consumption is not evenly spread, the population near Lake Victoria getting the largest supplies. The fish shortage manifests itself in several ways. When the fish is landed, each canoe is surrounded by a large number of women clamouring for the privilege of buying the catch. Sometimes there is a near-riot before the catch is equitably distributed. Offal, such as fish gills and guts, are carefully preserved and sold. Fish skeletons, which remain from the filleting operations of tilapia in Kisumu, sell for up to 20 cts. each. Nile perch heads and skeletons, again after filleting, sell for shs. 1/50 and shs. 1/-, respectively, and a queue forms long before the skeletons are put on sale. Within twenty miles of the Lake, fish which has gone bad will still find a ready market. Finally, within 30 miles of Lake Victoria, the people have built between 10,000 and 20,000 fish ponds. Although these are primarily for domestic purposes, any surplus catches, no matter how small, find a ready sale.
To maintain even a consumption of 8 lbs. of fish per year, with a population now expanding at nearly 100,000 per annum, requires an extra 350 tons of fish a year. To bring per capita consumption up to that of neighbouring Uganda (20 lbs. per year) requires additional supplies of 17,000 tons to give an overall consumption of 29,000 tons per annum. To maintain this higher rate of consumption in the future would entail an annual increase of 1,000 tons. If adequate supplies were available, and if consumer incomes made an improvement in dietary levels possible, average consumption would go far higher than 20 lbs. per annum.
The cash income of the population in Western Province and Nyanza is increasing. A large coffee-growing program is in train; cotton, sugar, tea and sisal crops are expanding, and a considerable industrial program is under way in Kisumu, the principal town of the area. In addition, the area is a big exporter of labour to Nairobi, Mombasa, and Uganda, where new industries are being launched. With the gradual increase in minimum wages, cash remittances to Nyanza, which are already large, can also be expected to grow.
(b) The Nairobi/Nakuru market is of much smaller significance. There are 250 African fishmongers in the Nairobi market and 43 in Nakuru, mainly selling dried fish from Tanzania and S. Nyanza. If each one of them were to increase his turnover even modestly, a large additional market would be created.
Lake Rudolf is well situated to supply the large demand in the areas at (a) and (b) above, without investment in expensive processing plant. Sun-dried fish is very acceptable on these markets and in the year-round arid conditions in the Turkana District can be produced by the fishermen using family labour at no out of pocket expense. The main market at (a) is only 280 miles from the Lake shore at Ferguson's Gulf. Another 70 miles onward are the important markets in Uganda, such as Tororo with 70 fishmongers, and Mbale with about the same number of fishmongers. These markets would be additional to those in Moroto, Kitgum, Soroti, Kampala and Entebbe in Uganda, already mentioned previously. If an attempt is made to develop every small outlet on the routes to these main markets, regular delivery runs can be started by anyone entering this trade.
How far is Lake Rudolf meeting the demand at present? The sales of 14½ tons of dried fish over the past nine months through the Kalakol Co-operative have all been made to transporters based on Kitale. No attempt had been made by the Co-operative or the Fisheries Department to determine to whom the fish is sold from Kitale and to develop these outlets further. Investigation showed that 60 percent of the fish is sold from Kitale which has a population of 10,000; 40 percent is sold elsewhere and transferred mainly to people travelling by taxi and who are taking the bulk of it to Uganda. Nubis from the Bombo area of Uganda were said to be particularly partial to sun-dried tilapia. Other occasional loads go to Eldoret, N. Nyanza and Tororo. A regular small supply goes to Moroto. One transporter indicated to the expert that he only dealt in tilapia and Nile perch and that whole dried tilapia which had been simply split were more popular than tilapia with a double split and unfolded fillets which he could sell only with difficulty. He said he would be able to increase his sales by a sizeable amount if larger supplies were available, and that many potential buyers, who had travelled long distances by taxi, had to be turned away empty-handed. He also said that there was competition at the lake shore for supplies between the transporters who tried to buy loads of fish. Confirmation of this was experienced at first hand by the expert, when he received numerous requests in Nairobi from African employees of the Fisheries Department to bring back fish from Rudolf. In the Turkana District itself, it was further reported, missions which had tried to buy rations for their schools had been unable to obtain their requirements.
A brief survey of Kitale market was carried out. The following retail prices for Lake Rudolf fish were noted:
Dried tilapia - shs. 2/- per lb. (fresh equivalent cts. 60) (stated to have been purchased in Kitale at shs. 1/- per lb. wholesale);
dried Nile perch fillets - shs. 2/50 per lb. (in Entebbe, Uganda, Lake Rudolf Nile perch fillets were sold for shs. 4/- per lb.).
Transport charges from Kitale to Lake Rudolf were as follow:
Round-trip hire of 5 or 7 ton lorry, Kitale to Ferguson's Gulf - shs. 700/-;
back load from Ferguson's Gulf to Kitale for lorry which has had forward load to Lodwar - shs. 400/-;
for odd loads on lorry returning after carrying load to Ferguson's Gulf -between 6 and 10 cts. per lb., depending on quantity.
The fishmongers stated that they had never been offered any other fish but Nile perch and tilapia. They said that Citharinus were very popular amongst the Alur, Acholi and Lugbara tribes in Uganda and around Tororo.
The failure to develop sales at a faster rate stems from inexperience in fish marketing. In the past, the Fisheries Department has largely confined its activities to improving fishing methods, stocking work, etc., whilst market development was left to the fishermen and the trade.
The Luo commercial fishermen on Lake Victoria have built up a great body of experience since the start of commercial net fishing there sixty years ago. The pattern of the fish trade is such that much of the catch is cured and sold by the wives of the fishermen, whilst in more distant markets relatives peddle the fish. A satisfactory fish wholesaling and retailing network has been built up by the Luo from the Lake Victoria area throughout Kenya, and also in Uganda. The Luo, as a consequence, have become widely acknowledged experts in this field.
To enable Lake Rudolf catches to enter these markets, the industry on the Lake will have to come to terms with the Luo fish retailers. Since many of the latter also operate canoes on Lake Victoria, they will not welcome any fish from outside, which may tend to depress prices of their own production or make sales more difficult
In Kenya, the consumers have become used to dealing with Luo who, they know, can be counted upon to cure the fish in the way they like it. Were the Luo to be welcomed on Lake Rudolf, the fishing industry there would most likely develop very rapidly. To date, several Luo have been to Lake Rudolf to investigate the possibilities of buying fish. They have, however, been put off by:
the long distance and relatively poor communications;
the controls on movement into and out of the Turkana District;
the uncertainty of being able to assemble an economic load of fish from the present, virtually subsistence-type, fishing operations;
the large size of the fish, which are bigger than those normally produced from other lakes in East Africa, and the species fished which are largely unknown in Kenya.
They have said that they would be interested in going to Lake Rudolf if they were allowed to take their own canoes along and engage in fishing operations there. They are confident that they would be able to land enough for satisfactory market loads. Also, they think that they would be in a position to catch the type and size of fish and to cure the fish in a way which would readily sell in the market.
It appears likely that the fishery will develop very quickly but no one at the field level is familiar with larger-scale fishing operations. The expert recommended, at the July 1965 meeting of the Turkana Development Committee, that arrangements be made for a group of fishermen and leading political figures from the Turkana District to take a tour of the Lakes Edward and George fisheries in Uganda which are highly developed. It would be appropriate if this group were led by the Fisheries Development Officer for Lake Rudolf and by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources. The latter knows these fisheries very well and would be able to explain how they were created. The expert places considerable importance on the implementation of this proposal. On the occasion of a visit to Uganda, the Nakivubo dried-fish market in Kampala and the Entebbe fish market, which are now important outlets for Lake Rudolf fish, could also be inspected.
Attempts should be made to put the fishing operations on a commercial basis as soon as possible. At present, when gear is worn out, the fishermen tend to ask one of the charitable organizations or the Government for a gift of new equipment rather than to purchase it from the proceeds of their sales of fish. A quick way to teach the people, who are basically cattle herders, commercial fishing practices, would be to invite a selected number of good professional fishermen from other areas such as Lake Victoria to come to the area and to issue them licences for fishing in Lake Rudolf. Participation in the fishery of a few African fishermen from the north of Lake Albert, where conditions are similar to those at Lake Rudolf, and where the fish species are the same, but where fishing is done on a large scale from mechanized boats, would also be of value. They could be provided with fishing licences issued to non-Kenya citizens. In return for offering them the economic opportunity to engage in the fishery, these experienced fishermen could be induced to hire local people to assist them and, thus, pass on their experience gained over years and generations. This practice of training new fishermen has been used widely in Uganda to supplement Government-sponsored training schemes. If necessary, the licences could be issued for a limited period, say five years.
It is recommended that the Kenya Government recruit, as early as possible, a senior well-qualified fisheries officer with many years of experience in fisheries development work, and who is also a good administrator, to take charge of Lake Rudolf fisheries development and organize the fishery at all of its stages, including marketing. The present staff, under the Fisheries Development Officer currently assigned to the area, has been very successful over the past three years in laying the necessary foundation for development on the catching and processing sides of the industry at Ferguson's Gulf. They have achieved a great deal under extremely difficult conditions in this isolated desert area and their services are still vitally required. Development of marketing has, however, lagged behind. At present, someone with a broad fisheries background is required, not only to organize the fisheries generally, but also to advise the Kalakol Fishermen's Co-operative, potential fish processors, fish buyers, etc. If activity is to expand on the scale envisaged, continuing expert advice and support is needed at all stages.
One good Fisheries Assistant is required at Loiyangalani to assist the El Molo. These people have already been given valuable assistance by famine relief organizations, by the Lake Rudolf Oasis Co. of Loiyangalani, and by one of the leading oil companies which has provided them with a boat. So far, they have received no formal instruction in fishing methods. At present, they are trying to fish with home-made seine nets which have neither floats nor sinkers. With guidance, the Fisheries Assistant could assist the El Molo also in the marketing of their catches. At present, they operate only on a subsistence basis. The Fisheries Assistant also would have to carry out certain data assembly activities and, in particular, obtain information on catches.
Fisheries Assistants are also required at the mouth of the Kerio and Turkwell rivers to collect statistical data on catches, by species and by type of gear employed and on catch disposal. At present, no statistics are collected on either commercial or subsistence fishing.
One good Fisheries Assistant is also required at Ferguson's Gulf to collect statistical data on catches and their disposal in the market and, under direction, to undertake surveys of present and potential inland markets for Lake Rudolf fish.
When recruiting Fisheries Assistants, people of secondary school standard should be engaged, if possible with a fishing background. The present junior field staff are either illiterate or have had very limited education, come from non-fishing tribes, and, although invaluable for practical activities after a certain amount of training, cannot be used for surveys requiring any more than the most elementary type of reporting.
A clerk/typist is required at the Lake Rudolf Fisheries Office. At present, the office has no clerk and all correspondence is in the form of hand-written notes.
In due course, as commercial fishing expands to the northern waters, a second Fisheries Development Officer should be appointed, as proposed in the Kenya Development Plan.
In the view of the expert, crocodile catching should be taken over on an immediate basis by the fishermen from the Fisheries Department, the Local Government Scouts and the Game Department, who at present carry out the control. In salaries alone, the cost of trapping is considerable, and the money so spent could be put to better use elsewhere. The fishermen could catch crocodiles, using snares, hooks, and harpoons, as a part-time activity and at no cost to the Government, as is done elsewhere in East Africa. At present, the losses from damage to gill-nets by the crocodiles are considerable. Also, the fishermen do not share directly in the proceeds from the sale of crocodile skins.
By channelling the marketing of crocodile skins through the Kalakol Fishermen's Co-operative, a control of the number of skins cropped could be exercised. The quality of skin preparation could also be controlled and a better price obtained than at present, when quality is frequently affected through bad skinning or scale slip.
At the time of the expert's visit, the Game Department was carrying out a much needed scientific survey of the number of crocodiles in Lake Rudolf. From the results of this survey, it should be possible to fix annual quotas of the crocodiles to be taken from different areas, and to decide in which areas fishing or crocodile catching should have priority, with due regard to the potential value of each crop. In some areas, such as for example in the National Parks, it is anticipated that crocodile catching may be completely prohibited.
In the expert's view, it is more appropriate for the control of crocodile catching outside the National Parks and Game Reserves to come under the Fisheries Department than under the Game Department, as this is the case in Uganda. This avoids frictions between conflicting interests. In Kenya, crocodile catching was originally controlled by the Fisheries Section of the Game Department but, on the formation of a separate Fisheries Department, the Fisheries Department was, in practice, to control catching, although de jure control stayed with the Game Department. The expert recommends a return to the original arrangement and suggests that the legislative position be clarified. Crocodile control should be deleted from the Game Ordinance schedules and put under an appropriate section of the fisheries legislation.
At present, there are already 6,000 people settled at Ferguson's Gulf, most of them under primitive, temporary, camp conditions, and dependent on famine relief; some have lived under camp conditions since 1935. A major development of the fishery, such as the one now contemplated, probably will result in the absorption of most of the able-bodied residents into direct or indirect employment in the fishery industry. This would make it possible for them to abandon subsistence operations and partial dependence on charity, and to integrate themselves into a cash economy within the 1965–70 development period. Better housing might be provided, schools would have to be expanded, and shops and markets, social amenities, etc., created. Elements from outside the area would be drawn into the industry and processing sites would be required. The improvement of communications would lead to development of a tourist business, especially in view of the excellent sport fishing potential. To foster this development which could be expected to follow along the lines of the Uganda experience at such places as Katwe on Lake Edward, where a township of over 4,000 people has developed in recent years around an industry producing 5,000 tons of fish per annum, the expert proposed, in the course of his assignment, that plans be drawn up for a small township at Ferguson's Gulf. On this suggestion, the Town Planning Adviser started to draw up the necessary plans in conjunction with the Fisheries Department, the local administration, and other interested parties. The plans are such that they can be copied at Loiyangalani if the fishery there developed in similar fashion, and at any other fishing villages which may be established.
Approximately 350 youths and men from the Famine Relief Camp at Ferguson's Gulf carry out subsistence fishing with plunge baskets in the adjacent swamps. It is estimated that their total catch amounts to 300 to 400 lbs. of fish per day. The expert did not see any rods and lines in use during his visits to the area. Small hooks can be purchased in East Africa for shs. 1/30 per hundred and for a very small cost a very substantial issue of hooks could be made to the camp for use with home-cut canes and home-made lines. 250,000 hooks would cost only £147, a sum which could probably be obtained from one of the charitable funds. This number of hooks would enable regular issues to be made to the old men, children, women and anyone else in the camp interested in fishing in this manner and might considerably increase the quantities of fish available for local consumption. In view of the rich fishing in this area, such fishermen might even produce enough to permit small sales in the market. The hooks should be put on sale to discourage over-dependence on charity. The Cooporative store would be the most convenient place for the sale of this material. Similar issues also should be made to the El Molo.
Active sport fisheries have already been established at Ferguson's Gulf and Loiyangalani. These should be encouraged in any way possible, as they are useful employers of labour, boat-crews, etc., and will also assist in the development of the area and the fishories. Catches are unusually high, with the average landing of Nile perch being 100 lbs. per rod/day.
It was felt by the expert that to permit a few fishermen-cum-fishmongers from Lake Victoria to fish Lake Rudolf commercially would result in a far more rapid development of the markets for this fish in Kenya than any other possible measure the Government could take. Sales promotion of the catch would not involve extra costs. The fishermen would in some manner or other succeed in marketing their catches. If resistance were encountered in one market, they would try to find new markets until they succeeded. If any species did not sell, they might eat it themselves, or give it to family or friends, and the fish might soon become acceptable. What appears reasonably certain is that no fish would be thrown away.
Although the fishermen would first try to market their own fish, they would also provide outlets for fish produced by the Kalakol Fishermen's Co-operative. For a start, inviting some 50 selected professional fishermen from other areas to come to Lake Rudolf was envisaged. The bulk would come from the Kenya waters of Lake Victoria. To broaden the experience of the fishermen, and to create different outlets, it might be advisable, however, to bring in also a small number, say five, fishermen from the Uganda waters of Lake Victoria, who would know the Kampala/Jinja markets and would be able to establish themselves in these markets, and five fishermen from Lake Albert, who would be familiar with the Lake Rudolf species, and who could develop the northern Uganda markets as well as the Congo market, should the latter open up again in the future. The Uganda fishermen all use outboard engines and many have better boats, motor-vehicles, etc.
The reaction of the Ministry of Natural Resources to the suggestions of the expert appeared to be favourable, since the proposals were in line with existing plans regarding Lake Rudolf development. The Fisheries Department worked up more specific proposals in conjunction with the expert to ensure that the maximum benefit to the Turkana District would result. The rules proposed for the issue of permits to fishermen from other areas were as follows:
only one fisherman from another area was to work from one canoe and only one newcomer to supervise processing;
all other crewmen and processing labour was to be Turkana;
minimum wages for the District for all fishing and shore labour were to be set;
although permit holders were to be allowed to sell their own fish, they would also be expected to purchase fish from the Kalakol Co-operative;
any instructions laid down by the Fisheries Officer, Lake Rudolf, had to be adhered to.
The proposals led to a strong negative reaction from the local Turkana interests who were afraid that their livelihood was being taken away from them. The fact is that, if they wish to develop the industry, this is the fastest way they can do it and the quickest means whereby they can move to a cash economy from their present dependence, to a large extent, on famine relief, doles and charity. Working side by side with fishermen of long experience, they would quickly learn commercial operations. It can be expected, if the pattern of developments in neighbouring countries is any guide, that they would soon begin to assist in the transport of fish inland, stand in for the fishmongers, and gradually learn the requirements of the markets.
Two commercial concerns have expressed serious interest in setting up a freezing factory for fillets for the Nairobi and overseas markets. They should be encouraged to do so. It is suggested that initially only one factory be licensed for Ferguson's Gulf and one for Loiyangalani, ensuring that at the latter the siting be carefully arranged so that the present tourist lodge is not harmed in any way. The lodge is a useful economic asset for the area. It is thought that because of the present difficulties of transport, with the connecting roads being impassable for up to three days at a time due to flooded drifts and transport, in general, being severely handicapped because of difficult sand-river crossings, steep escarpments, and bad road surfaces, that these factories should not be installed until the road improvement plans have been executed. If it appears economic for the processing factories to transport their products by plane, this consideration would not apply.
The expert advises that the plans for professional fishermen-cum-fishmongers to join the Lake Rudolf fishery at Ferguson's Gulf at an early date to achieve a rapid and sound development of the industry should be pursued further with the Turkana people.
If the Turkana do not accept this proposal, then they must be prepared to be satisfied with a much slower development of their industry. In this case, priority should be switched to developing Loiyangalani, which is in the Marsabit District, to attain the Government's objective of meeting a large part of the country's fish requirements from Lake Rudolf, which is considered a major national asset.
The main fisheries station could then be developed there and the road from S. Horr brought up to motorable standards. Outside fishermen could be brought in here with little difficulty, since they would not interfere in any way with local interests.
The question of the continued need for restriction of entry to the Lodwar/Ferguson's Gulf area should be examined and the eventual abandonment of the present barrier at Loiya and the existing permit system given serious consideration.
Suggestions made in discussions with officials of the Ministry of Cooperatives for stimulating market development included the following proposed activities:
trucking of fish to Lodwar on cattle and stock sale days, and investigating all local Turkana markets;
opening up a wholesale/retail stall at Kitale;
linking up with farmers' co-operatives in Nyanza/Western Province, especially the Co-operative Union at Bungoma to increase sales;
obtaining an agency for fishing nets, hooks, gear, outboard engines, etc., at Ferguson's Gulf. (At present there is no retail shop for these items);
obtaining a petrol/oil agency for aviation fuel and motor fuel. (At present, planes destined for Ferguson's Gulf with tourist parties have to fly past Ferguson's Gulf to Lodwar to obtain fuel for the return journey to Nairobi, which adds approximately ½ hour to the charter; motor vehicles at present refuel at Lodwar);
selling local curios to visitors, since there is a large demand for these;
as and when a commercial processing firm comes to Ferguson's Gulf, establishing a link with it through acquisition of shares (the Co-operative should not attempt to go into processing, as this could be a costly business in view of the lack of experience of its members in this field; management of a processing plant would involve the employment of expensive expatriate management if the products were to be competitive in price and quality with processed fish at present found in the East African market);
developing boat-building, boat-repair, and outboard sales and servicing facilities for its members;
hiring out its motor-boat, and selling and renting fishing tackle to visiting sport fishermen;
keeping the office and store at Ferguson's Gulf open throughout the working day, not irregularly as at present, so that the members of the Co-operative can immediately sell fish they have on offer, and buyers, similarly, can transact their purchasing operations quickly.
On the other major lakes of East Africa, intensive development has only been achieved after continued research and scientific observation over a long period; development of fisheries to present levels was phased over twenty years or more. On Lake Rudolf, which is the last of the major East African lakes yet to be developed, no overall fisheries survey has been carried out since the Cambridge Expedition to the East African Lakes in 1930–31; this expedition, moreover, visited the Lake for only a few weeks. Various other fisheries workers have visited the Lake since but, again, only for periods of a few days or weeks. It is essential that a full-scale fishing survey of Lake Rudolf be carried out. Since such a survey and any major development work is beyond the capacity of the Fisheries Department, it is recommended that the Government of Kenya approach the United Nations with a view to the setting up of a Special Fund scheme on the Lake.
The program of work of the proposed Special Fund project should include also other than research activities and cover basic development work for rational production and utilization of the fishery resources of the Lake to ensure that the population of Kenya derives maximum economic benefits from this important national asset. The scheme, therefore, should be similar in size and scope to the SF fisheries project on Lake Kariba recently established with the help of FAO, which functions as executing agency. The Kariba project is scheduled to last five years and has been launched with a team of internationally recruited experts in the fields of fisheries biology, technology, and economics. The tasks assigned to the experts include investigations related to the assessment of fish production potential, determination and introduction of suitable methods of catching the fish, and research into - and promotion of - activities related to market organization and market development.
The assessment of the biological potential of the Lake must be at the very foundation of any major development activities. As the fishing radius is extended from the present small area around Ferguson's Gulf and the whole southern areas of the Lake gradually brought into production, problems can be expected to arise which will require changes in fishing, processing, and marketing techniques to cope with an expanded volume of catches taken at greater distances from the landings. The combined knowledge of the experts will have to be brought to bear on these problems to find solutions compatible with the basic objectives of Government policy.
To launch investigations and development on the scale envisaged, the proposed SF scheme will require, as a minimum, the following expatriate staff:
In addition to the above full-time staff, sufficient man-years for consultant work related to statistical data collection analysis, fish processing, and other activities for which expatriate assistance may be necessary, should be provided in the staffing plan.
Initially, Kenya would experience some difficulty in providing qualified professional counterparts for this team of internationally recruited experts. With the organization of a fellowships program, which may be started with FAO/TA allocations and later continued under the auspices of the SF project, and on-the-job training provided to promising candidates by the internationally recruited experts, this problem may eventually be solved, so that a team of Kenya nations will be available to take over upon expiration of the term for which international assistance is provided.
The situation with respect to less well-trained extension personnel needed for development work may be more rapidly solved, especially if the proposals regarding the training of junior field staff detailed under 6.6.3 of this report are implemented without delay.
Kenya is now spending a good deal of money in developing the Lake Rudolf fishery at Ferguson's Gulf in connection with the provision of a Fisheries Headquarters for the Lake, with office, store and simple laboratory accommodation, staff accommodation, etc., at a cost of £22,900, and is improving the 240-mile access road from Kitale to Ferguson's Gulf at a cost of £300,000. She has a launch on the Lake and various small craft provided with outboard engines. She has also constructed air strips at Ferguson's Gulf and Loiyangalani so that direct communication with Nairobi and elsewhere is facilitated. These expenditures, as well as the present and proposed additional local staff, which may be assigned to the project, could be regarded as Kenya's counterpart contributions to a Special Fund project.
Housing for a team of expatriate experts would have to be specially constructed. A potable water supply would be required, the installation of which is regarded by the Fisheries Department as a pre-requisite for any further development at Ferguson's Gulf. The latter project should be given high priority by the Ministry of Natural Resources which includes the administration of rural water supply facilities among its responsibilities.
The expert proposes that the Government give consideration to preparing a request to the Special Fund for assistance in establishing a project along the above lines. As a first step, the Government may want to discuss its plans with the Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Kenya. If found necessary, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which would be the executing agency for a project in this field, might help in drawing up, in suitable form, a request for review by the Special Fund in New York.
