Climate change: A pointer to increased small-scale fisher drowning deaths

‘sub-culture’ of risk where fishers risk their lives on the water as well [29] and may play a role in motivating fishers to go out even in risky weather conditions. We investigated reports of drowning deaths among fishers in the Lake Victoria fishery to better understand contributing risk factors, and particularly the role of extreme weather on occupational drowning deaths in the small-scale fishery around the Kenyan shores of the lake. We also examined stakeholder perceptions of drowning risks and opportunities to mitigate them to inform future programmatic and policy efforts. The small-scale fisher dependence on fisheries and escalating climate impacts within Lake Victoria may be emblematic of small-scale fishing communities in low-income countries facing increasing storms alongside consistent pressure to fish. Materials and methods Study area Lake Victoria is shared by three countries in Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda (Fig 1). Within all three nations, small-scale fishing is widespread, and the lake fishery supports the Fig 1. Study site: Kenyan shore of Lake Victoria (made with Natural Earth and Hamilton [36]). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302397.g001 PLOS ONE Climate change and small-scale fisher drowning deaths PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302397 May 22, 2024 3 / 16