During the period February to June 2020, heavy rainfall caused increases in levels and flooding in many lakes in East Africa. This coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. These calamities affected ecosystems and livelihoods, especially of fishers who depend on fisheries as their only source of livelihood. This study examined the effects of COVID-19 and flooding on the major inland capture fisheries in Kenya to illustrate the effect of such calamities on vulnerable communities to guide interventions. Socioeconomic data were collected across the fish value chains during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic and flooding in Kenya from May to early June 2020. The measures put in place to contain COVID-19 pandemic notably dusk to dawn curfew (66%) and lock-downs (28%) in major cities that act as main fish markets were cited as the main factors that influenced fishing and fishing trade. Negative consequences reported included livelihood losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced fishing time and trips as well as a decline in consumables such as boat fuel resulted in low fish catches. Although COVID-19 pandemic affected livelihoods, the fish stocks benefited from reduction in fishing effort. Similarly flooding led to livelihood and material losses but positively impacted on stocks through expansion of fish breeding and nursery areas. The respondents recommended that governments should have disaster preparedness programs in place to address such calamities. There is also need for more detailed research on calamities that are increasing in frequency to provide information and data to guide policy and interventions.

Hydrological regimes are significant drivers of fisheries production in many African Lakes due to their influence on fish habitat and food availability, breeding success, and catchability. Lake Turkana, Kenya, will undergo substantial changes in hydrology due to water regulation and extraction along the Omo River in neighboring Ethiopia, which provides over 90% of its water. The objective of this study was to predict how the lake's fisheries, which provide an important livelihood and protein source in the region, will respond to hydrological change. While variations in fishing effort are poor predictors of fisheries catch in the lake, water levels and their fluctuations strongly influence fisheries production. Seasonal oscillations play a particularly important role, and with complete loss of these oscillations, the lake's predicted fisheries yield will decrease by over two thirds. The fishery is predicted to collapse at a lake level decline of 25 m, regardless of seasonal amplitude magnitude. The lake's total littoral habitat, where fisheries are currently concentrated, will increase in surface area with lake level declines of <25 m. However, the extent of productive, dynamic littoral habitat will decrease with dampening of the lake's seasonal oscillations. The most severe habitat loss will occur in the lake's Turkwel Sector, which hosts the region's highest human population densities, and North Sector, where inter‐tribal conflict over resources is common and likely to be exacerbated by lake level decline. The continued ecological functioning of Lake Turkana necessitates immediate efforts to develop and apply a water resource management plan rooted in science.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract