Download Promotion and Management of Marine Fish in Kenya

Promotion and Management
of Marine Fisheries in Kenya
Andrew W.Wamukota1 & Nyawira Muthiga2
1 Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee, 2 Wildlife Conservation Society
Introduction
• Kenya’s fisheries comprises freshwater and
the marine sub-sector.
• Contribution to the country’s economy employment creation, income generation and
foreign exchange earnings
• auxiliary industries such as net making,
packaging material industries and boat
building among others.
Map showing the Kenyan Coast province
Importance of the sector
• Contribute to Kenya’s GDP.
• Between 1971 and 1981, it accounted for an
average 0.2% of GDP and in 1989/90 2%
• In 2004 it accounted for 5% of the GDP.
• The country earns about Kshs. 4 billion
(approx. US$ 50 million) in foreign exchange
and the fishers over Kshs. 7 billion.
Total fish production and value in Kenya. 1996 –
2002 (Source: Gitonga and Achoki, 2003)
Marine Fisheries Characteristics
• Artisanal
• Carried out in near shore areas
• Mainly during NEM when conditions are
favorable
• Demarsals - parrot fish and rabbit fish
• Pelagics - King fish, Jacks and Tuna
• Sharks, rays and crustaceans
Challenges
• Overexploitation and decline
• High levels of sea urchins indicating a
depletion of sea urchin predators; the orange
striped triggerfish and the tripletail wrasse
• Unfriendly gear e.g. high usage of beach
seines and spear guns, dynamite, driftnet and
trawlers in N. Coast
Overview of multiple demands
• From fishing, agriculture, tourism, shipping &
ports, marine dredging, offshore oil
exploration, curio trade, mining and fossil
coral extraction
• Decline in fish landing attributed to increased
fisherfolk, destructive fishing methods and
habitat (coral and mangrove) destruction.
• The most important issues are declining
fishery production, habitat destruction,
Perceptions & non perceptions
• Decline in marine fishery generally attributed
to overfishing
• Population increase and use of destructive
fishing gear blamed for decline in fish landings
• Traditional non fisher tribes joining fishery
• Upsurge of destructive fishing practices
• Upsurge of migrant fishers
• Traditional leaders not seen to discourage
destructive gears
Perceptions cont.
• Low degree of awareness (land-based,
political and economic activities)
Instead
• Some fishermen attribute a reduction in
marine fish to fish moving to other locations,
hiding, altering their behavior or dogma.
Suggested management initiatives
• General encouragement of responsible fishing
practices and co-management structures;
• Curtailment of destructive fishing methods;
• Further development of MPAs
• Resolution of conflicts arising from the
migrant fishermen
Case study of Diani-Chale area
Fisheries promotion regimes
• Estimated area of 25 km2
• Economic activities revolve on fishing, agriculture and
tourism
• Fishing occurs inside reef thus pressure on
overexploited lagoon
• Fish caught include lethrinids, rabbit fish and parrot
fish; sea cucumbers, crabs, lobsters, squids and
octopus
• Sport fishing is popular
• The catch is sometimes difficult to quantify
• Out of the five gears used, spear gun and beach
seines get 80 % of the total catch
• Data collected over 10 years by FiD indicates a
steady decrease in catch between 1991 and 1999
• Catch decline (approx. 4 - 6kg at the most productive
site and season) attributed to the increased no. of
fishers and the introduction of destructive gear
especially small meshed beach seines.
• Local fishermen estimate a 90% drop in catch since
the introduction of beach seines
Conflicts reported due to lack of appropriate
subsidy and non-existing access to credit
following the collapse of fisher cooperative
societies. The only subsidy currently provided to
fishermen is the importation of fishing gear
duty free.
There are no development banks or micro
finance schemes accessible to fishers
Increasingly, fishers have set up groups,
associations or committees that are taking over
the role of societies (10)
Management- Diani/Chale case study
• Many traditions are viewed as forms of
marine conservation.
• Many of these traditions decayed
• Inadequate capacity by FiD to enforce
legislation has shifted management
focus towards resource users.
• A draft Fisheries Policy (2005) awaiting
Cabinet approval: create vibrant fishing,
alleviating poverty, and creating wealth,
fisheries management and development
Draft fisheries policy 2005
• Encourages community participation through
incorporated Beach Management Units
(BMU’s)
• Promotes the use of IKS along side scientific
• Involves other stakeholders in promotion of
fisheries management
• BMUs to be involved in implementation of
legislation with regard to destructive and
banned gear.
• A more formal role for BMUs through
clarification of fishing ground tenure, access
rights, support for the development and
enforcement of local fishing rules
However
• The socioeconomic condition of fishers, their
fear of losing landing sites, and pose barriers
to initiatives seeking to promote local level
management.
Realization of reforms
• Policy provides for better coordination
between fisheries management and research
• KMFRI and Fisheries to promote and
coordinate co-management research activities
for sustainable utilization of fisheries
resources.
• An important departure is the proposal for
the Fisheries Department to establish an
Policy reform agenda
• The Kenyan government’s Economic Recovery Strategy Paper (20032007)
• Develop infrastructure
• Promote aquaculture to improve food security, and
incomes.
• Promote closer regional co-operation in the
management and regulation of the trans-boundary
fisheries resources
• Encourage growth of micro-finance institutions to
provide credit to the sub sector.
• The need for the realization of these reforms still
Exclusive Economic Zone Fisheries
Management
• The ocean bordering the East Coast of Africa is
largely unregulated. Although Kenya has declared
200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), lack the
institutional and financial capability to exercise her
jurisdiction.
• The more lucrative and much larger offshore fisheries
are harvested mostly by distant-water fishing fleets
from Europe and East Asia
• Main species sought: tunas including skipjack,
yellowfin and bigeye tuna.
• Up to 38 foreign fishing vessels have been
licensed to fish in the Kenya EEZ.
• No research has been done on fisheries
resources in the deeper waters of the Kenyan
zone to establish species composition,
distribution, behavior, and migration.
• There is lack of effective Monitoring Control
and Surveillance System.
• Access arrangements are poorly organized
and so distant-water operators do little in the
way of reporting catches
Recommendation
Fitting VMS in each vessel, acquiring monitoring
and surveillance capacity and resources and
joining the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
have been proposed.
Asanteni sana