Can AI Stop Mass Fish Deaths on Lake Victoria?

AI is being tested as a practical early-warning system to prevent mass fish deaths on Lake Victoria, after an alert saved tilapia cages in Kenya’s Dunga Beach. In early February 2026, fish farmer Paul Ochieng said his phone began receiving SMS notifications when sensors detected a dangerous drop in dissolved oxygen under the lake’s surface. The AI-enabled system, deployed by Nairobi’s ShoShin Innovation Hub with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), triggered alerts to more than 300 fish farmers. Within hours, led by the Dunga Beach Management Unit, cages were towed and stock moved to safer waters; more than 450 tilapia cages were relocated and no mass deaths occurred. The approach follows losses of nearly US$1 million in local stock between 2024 and 2025.