The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute has issued an alert to fish farmers who have set up cages in Lake Victoria. The institute has advised these farmers to slow down on feeding their fish. This is because early signs indicate that the level of oxygen in Lake Victoria has fallen to alarming levels.
In its alert issued on Thursday, KMFRI’s Assistant Director, Chrisphine Nyamweya, explained that an early warning system located at Dunga Beach, which is located in Kisumu, had recorded levels of oxygen below 2 parts per million over the last few days.
This is bad news, especially for Tilapia, which is commonly caged for farming. This is because low levels of oxygen can easily kill fish if they do not get enough food.
In order to reduce losses, KMFRI has advised cage farmers located in Winam Gulf and other surrounding counties such as Kisumu, Siaya, Busia, Homa Bay, and Migori to harvest fish that is almost ready for consumption so that they can decongest their cages.
Fish cage farmers have been hit hard over the last few years, with losses recorded in 2024 and 2025 amounting to about one billion shillings as a result of sudden suffocation deaths.
