In 2003, the United States began a project meant to help coastal communities in Kenya out of poverty through USAID. The plan was to provide local fishermen with nets, freezers, boats and the like. But now Kenyans are struggling between providing for their families and destroying their surrounding ecosystems that they depend upon.
The four-year project, which ended over a year ago, cost $575,000 U.S.. The nets provided were nylon, which is not what locals insist they requested. Now the nets are causing the deaths of species not intended for the nets and destroying local coral reefs.
One issue involving the nets is the fact that they have the potential to be “ghost nets”. Ghost nets are the result of nets which are released or lost at sea which do not degrade and therefore continue to catch helpless creatures in the sea. Obviously, these nets are ocean pollution as well when this occurs.
In addition to the probable ghost net creation are the ocean life that is caught continually that is not the target catch. Dozens of sea turtles (which are endangered) have been caught in nets, many of which have perished due to the entanglement. Recently, a pregnant humpback whale was caught and rescued, along with another humpback whale and a dugong (which is endangered as well). Most of the wildlife becomes entangled overnight when nets are left out to catch lobsters intended for tourists.
Alongside the wildlife deaths are coral deaths. The stones used to weigh down the nets provided are harming the coral below when fishermen use them. The coral is scraped by the stones and some are even caught in the nets themselves. Fishermen are often seen picking amongst their catch and throwing additional coral overboard.
A USAID official, Robert Buzzard, noted that there were no studies performed prior to the dispersal of the nets to see what kind of impact the nets would or could have on ecosystems. USAID is also taking little responsibility for any ecosystem damage, pointing to local organizations to instruct locals about proper net usage.
Previously, local fishermen used hook-and-line methods to catch fish, most of which they provided to tourists in the region. But, now fishermen are concerned with the nets provided destroying the very ecosystem which they depend upon.
Fishermen are now torn between providing for their families and using nets destructive to their very way of life. Many fear using the hook-and-line method these days will bring them to poverty levels– especially since they witness European and Asian fishermen over fishing near their coast.
