Effects Of Weather And Climate Variability On Fishing Activities And Fishers’ Adaptive Capacity In Mbita Division - Homa Bay County, Kenya

Fisher-folk depend for a major part of their livelihood on natural resources whose distribution and productivity are known to be influenced by climate dynamics. Research has shown that small-scale fisher-folk in the developing countries are more vulnerable to climate variability due to their high reliance on fisheries and poor adaptive capacity. However most studies so far have concentrated on climate-driven changes in ocean productivity and its impact on fish distribution and production particularly in relation to oceanic regime changes of large-scale industrial fisheries and have not considered effects on the fishing activities and the fishers coping and adaptive strategies, especially in freshwater systems such as in Lake Victoria. It is against this background that the study sought to investigate the effects of weather and climate variability on the fishing activities and the fishers coping and adaptive strategies in Mbita Division, Homa bay County, Kenya. The study was guided by the premise that weather and climate variability can change the natural, physical and financial capital of the small-scale fisher-folk. It can also have an impact on human and social capital. The main objectives of the study were to find out the effects of weather and climate variability; specifically changes in temperature, rainfall and wind on the fisher-folk and the fishing duration, to investigate the effects of the seasonal variability of climatic elements on the fish catch, to assess the effects of weather and climate variability on the choice of fishing techniques and equipment being utilized by fisher-folk and to establish the coping and adaptive strategies of the fishing community in Mbita Division.