VOA常速英语2008年-Fishing Industry Symptomatic of Neglect in West

By Scott Bobb
Lake Victoria, Western Kenya
27 February 2008

The violence that erupted in Kenya following December's elections brought to the fore² long-standing feelings of marginalization in the opposition³ stronghold of western Kenya.  Economists⁴ say the decline of the once-prosperous fishing industry on Lake Victoria is one highly visible symptom.  Correspondent Scott Bobb has this report.

It is shortly after dawn in Dunga, a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya.  Fishermen are returning from the night's work.  They paddle their small dhows with their sails now rolled up through the thick green water hyacinth, pull the skiffs onto shore and begin unloading the night's catch of fish.

Nile Perch⁵, the lake's prime catch, are carried in baskets to the local fishermen's cooperative.  These high-quality fish are weighed and stored in ice chests to be sold to fish processing houses and exported.

The remaining catch, including Tilapia, catfish⁶ and tiny fish called Dagga, are sold directly from the boats to a crowd of market ladies who gather every morning for the auction⁷.

The traders swarm⁸ around the boats.  Negotiations⁹ sometimes are intense.

One of the traders, Mary Angeso, makes a living re-selling fish at a market in nearby Kisumu.  She says on an average day she will buy 1,000 Kenyan shillings worth of fish (about $15 US) and resell it for 2,000.

She says ten years ago the quantity of fish was small but profits were good.  Now she says there are fish, but no money.  And because of the post-electoral violence the roads are blocked and there are no visitors from other wealthier parts of Kenya.

As the trading subsides¹⁰ and the women leave with pans of fish balanced on their heads, the fishermen take a break.  Morris Juma says on an average day his boat makes $20 to $30, which is divided among the four crewmembers.  Fishing here, he says, is declining.  The catch has dropped by 40 percent in the past decade.

"Ten years back we were catching¹¹ big, big fish, but nowadays we are catching small ones," he noted¹².  "You can find two or three kilos and some small ones that's (are) undersized."

He blames the decline in part on environmental changes in the lake.

"Now there is no fish because the water has receded¹³ so much," he explained.  "Now there is no water. Another problem is this weed, hyacinth, water hyacinth."

He says farms along the shores of the lake have lowered the water level and fertilizer-laden run-off has fueled the invasion of water hyacinth.

A colleague, Moses Omoni, says over-fishing and the use of illegal nets that catch even the smallest fish are also responsible.  But most of all, he says the prices paid to the fishermen are too low.

"There's a gap between the producer and the consumer," he said.  "There's middlemen who have been taking too much from the fishermen."

When the ice chests at the Dunga cooperative are full, the Nile Perch are trucked to fish processing plants where they are cleaned, filleted and frozen.  The fish are then trucked to Nairobi and flown to markets in Europe, Asia and America.

But the fish processing industry here is in decline.  Of the eight local factories, five are closed.  And the remaining three operate only a few days a week.  As a result, most of the workers have been laid off and have become day laborers¹⁴.

Chris Owalla heads the Community Initiative Action Group, a local civic¹⁵ organization.  He says the decline of the fishing industry is due to neglect by the central government.

"There is no infrastructure¹⁶.  There are no roads.  Look at our airport.  It is so small that it cannot connect you to the export market so you must pass by Nairobi.  Fish industries are located in Thika, Central Province," he said.

He says the government has never implemented¹⁷ a plan to revitalize the fish processing industry in western Kenya, which not only competes with plants in central Kenya now, but also with new facilities in Tanzania and Uganda, countries that control most of the lake.

Owalla says the fishing industry is just one example of the area's neglect by the central government.  Cotton and sugarcane farming once flourished here but now hardly exist.

Nairobi University Professor Ken¹ Ouko says the fishing industry is a particularly sore issue among the Luo people who predominate in the region.

"The Luo see the fishing industry as one of the means which the ruling class presses them down [oppresses them]," he said.  "Because you go and buy the fish from them.  You're kind of exploiting them, so they think, and then sell it at a higher price.  You get rich.  They stay poor and they live in a vicious cycle."

President Mwai Kibaki, following his election six years ago, promised to establish a fishing authority run by the Luo, but this promise has not been fulfilled.

Historically the Luo have been the backbone¹⁸ of the political opposition in Kenya.  They largely supported opposition leader and favorite son Raila Odinga in the disputed December elections.

So the grievance¹⁹ over fishing was just one of many that exploded into violence when Odinga was declared the loser in the presidential election that the people here believe was rigged to keep Mr. Kibaki in power, and them in poverty.

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

6 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

7 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

8 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 subsides   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的第三人称单数 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• Emotion swells and subsides. 情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His emotion swells and subsides. 他的情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

14 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

15 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

16 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

17 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

18 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

19 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。