Lodwar, February 25th 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)

The County Government has called for increased investment in the local Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) statio at Kalokol to unlock the vast blue economy potential of the Lake Turkana and its basin.

Deputy Governor Dr. John Erus made the appeal when he hosted the KMFRI Board of Management delegation led by the Board chair Dr. Wenwa Akinyi Odinga who paid a courtesy call to the County.

“Through a research study, Turkana has identified fish and fisheries value chain as an area of potential economic benefit to the county and Kenya. Direct investment in the local KMFRI office will assist the county in unlocking the potential,” DG Erus said.

Citing that past financial allocations had disadvantaged Lake Turkana, DG Erus advocated for utilization of the existing vocational training institutes to build capacity of the local population to venture into fishing with support from KMFRI research findings.

“We look forward to a situation in which the local KMFRI office supports the local vocational training institutes to offer relevant courses instead of people travelling all the way to Mombasa, Kisumu or Nairobi for the same,” he added.

Currently Turkana hosts a KMFRI station at Kalokol. Other stations are in Tharaka Nithi, Kwale, Naivasha, Baringo, Homabay and Kisii among others. The headquarter sits at Mombasa with Kisumu and Sagana acting as the two main regional offices.

The visiting board acknowledged the concerns and committed to review the appeal as part of broader efforts to strengthen KMFRI national foot prints.