With over 48 species of fish in Lake Turkana (largetst desert lake in the world) and underexploited waters, fishing is filling empty pockets in Kenya’s poorest region in Arid and Semi arid rigion. Dried, smoked and frozen fish value is much lower than any value added product from the fish catch. For this reason fishermen and fish dependants at Lake Turkana have not fully financially benefited from this main activity in the region.
The author used both primary and secondary materials and methods to assess the state and gives rccommendations for better earning in the future. A small structured questionnaire was used for 20 fishermen and 10 fish traders from one Beach management (BMU) unit called Loiyangalani for this purpose. Further, as a certified fisheries office in this lake, the author has first hand information from day to day engament with the fishermen, boat owners and fish traders.
The study shows that 75% of fishermen ad traders support the idea of value addition as the best alternative compared to preserved and frozen fish. This study recommends supporting all the BMUs in the Lake with equipment for value addition such as fish mincing machines, cooller boxes, labelling and packaging materials.
Keywords: Preserved fish, value addition, lake Turkana, Kenya