MOMBASA, Kenya – The World Wide Fund for Nature WWF-Kenya is working with local communities on the Kenyan Coast to promote sustainable fisheries and safeguard these fisheries as a pillar for development and marine conservation.
Y News understands that small-scale fisheries are the economic backbone of coastal Kenya, directly employing over 20,000 people and indirectly supporting nearly a million more.
Through the European Union-funded E€OFISH programme project, WWF-Kenya, in partnership with the Kenya Fisheries Service and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, has strengthened fisheries co-management, benefiting both people and marine ecosystems.
“The ECOFISH project is a project focusing on small-scale fisheries in coastal Kenya and how to improve them, including providing food security for the people of the coast and alleviating poverty,” said Lily Mwasi, the Marine Coordinator, WWF-Kenya.
How organisations are supporting the Coastal Kenya fisheries sector
Asmah Awadh, WWF-Kenya’s Coastal Kenya Landscape Manager, said the organisation supports the small-scale fisheries sector in Kenya by working with various industry players.
“We work with the government, and we also work with the community to promote co-management specifically through the Beach Management Units,” explained Awadh.
According to Awadh, this improves the community’s ability to own the resource, leading to better fisheries management.
Abdu Mahmud, the Chairperson of Matondoni Beach Management Unit (BMU), revealed that he was the first to understand the ECOFISH project when it was introduced in the region.
“I was taken for training and understood that it is here for our benefit,” said Mahmud.
Meanwhile, Kamalu Shariff, Director of the Department of Fisheries, Lamu County, disclosed that the devolved unit had initiated several training sessions on resource management for the BMUs.
“We now have co-management plans with clear co-management measures that the community and the Department of Fisheries can use. In sustainable utilisation of the resources,” said Shariff.
All we know about the Coastal Kenya fisheries sector
Y News knows the Kenyan fisheries sector is divided into inland, aquaculture, and coastal and marine capture fisheries.
The fisheries sector along the Kenyan coast is a significant part of the national economy. It comprises coastal and marine fisheries, aquaculture, and inland capture fisheries.
It can generate over Sh 300 billion annually if fully utilised.
However, despite this promise, the industry has yet to reach its full potential, partially due to the underexploitation of designated fishing zones and other challenges.
