Feasibility of hydropower dams for cage culture. A strategy for fish farming in drought risk areas in Kenya

A significant portion of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands rural population in Kenya suffers from social challenges linked to hunger, starvation, and malnutrition. The existing hydropower dams in these areas can be leveraged upon for fish production through the adoption of cage culture. This study sought to assess the suitability and feasibility of these dams for cage culture as a strategy for socio-economic and nutritional empowerment of the rural communities. In this study, a survey was conducted including fish farmers, fishermen, and communities who use the dam waters for domestic and agricultural purposes. The main research approaches were semi-structured questionnaires for in-depth, one-on-one interviews with participants. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarize the data sets on socio-demographic indicators, such as age, economic status, education, and economic activities. The Majority of the respondents 49.6% cited fishing from the dam as the most important benefit accrued although the dams have been overfished and the harvests are dwindling from the observation. In the survey, 26.8% of the respondents identified water level fluctuation as the main challenge to cage establishment, followed by theft (25%) and wild animal menace (16.07%). Water quality analysis revealed both in situ parameters (Dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH) and nutrient concentrations as within levels acceptable for fish farming.