Relationship Between Technological Hazards And Fishermen Vulnerability In Lake Victoria, Kenya

Abstract

The enactment of the lake victoria transport act 2007 by the government of kenya was expected to improve safety on the lake. The number of maritime casualties would reduce significantly and that this would boost fishermen confidence on the lake. Despite this policy and other regional and international legal frameworks being in place, fishermen in lake victoria still face a myriad of technological hazards that enhances their vulnerability. In this regard need for continuous vulnerability assessment and mitigation strategies aimed at reducing the effects of maritime disasters cannot be under scored. In addition to this, it is imperative to note that effective vulnerability assessment depends on factors such as exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the fishermen and other stakeholders. Conclusive empirical data on the extent of fishermen vulnerability to technological hazard in lake victoria is dearth since most available literature are based on reports that have not been rigorously tested. The study therefore sought to find out the extent to which technological hazards affect fishermen on the kenyan side of lake victoria. In order to determine factors contributing to vulnerability of fishermen to technological hazards correlation research design was used. The study population for this study comprised of the key stakeholders in the fishing sector with a sample of 625 respondents who included 401 fishermen and 84 key informants and 140 members of a focus group discussion. The study employed questionnaires, observation checklist and interview schedule to collect data from the respondents. The study found out that the type of lake disasters recorded an insignificant negative correlation with type of vessel, frequency of lake disasters and number of people involved in the lake disasters. Cross tabulation results indicated that 94.3% of the lake disasters involved boats, with 85.2% resulting in drowning. 82.9% of the respondents indicated that drowning disasters were common on the lake. The study recommends that mitigation and adaptation measures targeting disaster risk reduction in lake victoria should focus on addressing the safety of vessels particularly boats and perception of risk by the fishermen.