A Day with a Small-Scale Fishing Community at Kanamai Beach, Kenya

Jerome Bossuet

Knowledge Management Consultant
3 minutes read

Small-scale fishing represents almost 80% of the catches in the West Indian Ocean region. About half of the fish is for personal consumption. This artisanal fishing sector contributes significantly to food security and livelihood of the populations, particularly those with subsistence living.

In coastal Kenya, these fishery communities face complex challenges from overfishing, ecosystem degradation and climate change, insufficient safety net and lack of livelihood diversification. The newly launched WorldFish-led Asia–Africa BlueTech Superhighway (AABS) project aims to address these challenges through four interconnected work packages, underpinned by robust knowledge exchange across countries on their challenges and experiences to facilitate country-led and country-tailored adaptation of technologies.

The Fisheries co-management guide published by WorldFish and Wildlife Conservation Society calls for a more inclusive fishery management for greater efficiency and sustainability of the resources. Since 2016, Kenya has promoted the creation of Beach Management Units (BMU) that gather fisheries and beach user groups to ensure structured community participation in the management of marine resources. These BMUs are central to enable this inclusive and sustainable fishery co-management in Kenya. How equipped are they to be effective in safeguarding the marine resources and the livelihoods of those who depend on it?

A visit to one of Kanamai BMU’s landing sites provides insights and direction to planning AABS activities in Kenya . 

There are 98 BMUs along the 610 km of Kenyan coastline. BMUs like Kanamai, near Mombasa, are mandated to record fish capture at the landing sites they supervise, implement fisheries regulations and create their own site-specific regulations in the form of bylaws.

10 kilometres north of Mombasa, as the tide comes in the coral reefs, dozens of fishers bring in their catch.
10 kilometres north of Mombasa, as the tide comes in the coral reefs, dozens of fishers bring in their catch.
This includes octopuses hand caught by the youth, and a diversity of pelagic and reef fish captured by nets or lines by fishers in small motorised boats.
This includes octopuses hand caught by the youth, and a diversity of pelagic and reef fish captured by nets or lines by fishers in small motorised boats. 

 

Despite its proximity with Mombasa, a growing coastal city, with new trade ambitions across the Indian Ocean region, artisanal fishers in Kanamai have very informal/low-tech fish landing facilities.
 Despite its proximity with Mombasa, a growing coastal city, with new trade ambitions across the Indian Ocean region, artisanal fishers in Kanamai have very informal/low-tech fish landing facilities.

Despite its proximity with Mombasa, a growing coastal city, with new trade ambitions across the Indian Ocean region, artisanal fishers in Kanamai have very informal/low-tech fish landing facilities.

This landing site consists of a few shacks where fishers can rest and eat, dry and repair their nets. Most small-scale fisher groups report uncertain land tenure rights and have limited capacity to invest in modern infrastructure.
 This landing site consists of a few shacks where fishers can rest and eat, dry and repair their nets. Most small-scale fisher groups report uncertain land tenure rights and have limited capacity to invest in modern infrastructure. 
Gilbert Miti, an experienced gillnet fisherman leads the Kanamai Beach Management Unit (BMU).
Gilbert Miti, an experienced gillnet fisherman leads the Kanamai Beach Management Unit (BMU). 

370 fishers are registered in the Kanamai BMU and they range from octopus hunters in the shallow reef waters; spearfishers; handline subsistence lagoon fishers and fishers who go out in motorised boats that operate within a few miles from the shore. 

I do not know if this is because of the lack of options, but in the past decade the number of fishers has tripled which means there is less fish for each of them

Among the Kanamai fishermen, 30 year-old coxswain Salim Nathaniel Baracka operates with two colleagues a 6-7 meters long motorised boat named Eden.
Among the Kanamai fishermen, 30 year-old coxswain Salim Nathaniel Baracka operates with two colleagues a 6-7 meters long motorised boat named Eden. 

I like the freedom and there are not many job opportunities in the region apart from this.

They fish every day with drift nets, in nearshore waters one hour away. He is the first in his family to venture into the fishing sector.
They fish every day with drift nets, in nearshore waters one hour away. He is the first in his family to venture into the fishing sector. 

 

Among the issues small-scale fisheries (SSF) face in Kenya, Salim mentions the fuel price hike, illegal fishing and recent policies that penalise small fishers like him, like the monofilament net ban. Current inflation has impacted his income.
 

Salim and his colleagues sell their catch directly at the beach to a group of women, under the supervision of the boat owner.Today, the net is full of barracuda and michorochoro or keeltail needlefish. September to December is usually a good fishing season for Kanamai fishers.
 Salim and his colleagues sell their catch directly at the beach to a group of women, under the supervision of the boat owner.Today, the net is full of barracuda and michorochoro or keeltail needlefish. September to December is usually a good fishing season for Kanamai fishers. 
However, unexpected severe floods along the Kenyan coast in November had highlighted the uncertainty of their livelihoods. During the four-month Kuzi (South East) Monsoon, from May to September, the sea is too rough to venture out. This is a difficult time when these fishers struggle to make ends meet.
However,  unexpected severe floods along the Kenyan coast in November had highlighted the uncertainty of their livelihoods. During the four-month Kuzi (South East) Monsoon, from May to September, the sea is too rough to venture out. This is a difficult time when these fishers struggle to make ends meet. 
A beach recorder manually registers in a booklet, the fishers’ catch, weighing bags and individual fish arriving at the landing site.
A beach recorder manually registers in a booklet, the fishers’ catch, weighing bags and individual fish arriving at the landing site. 
These records, key to assess the health of fish stocks, are sent to the county fisheries officer. BMU is the main channel of communication between the SSF communities and government fisheries services for data capture, regulation enforcement, training or conservation initiatives.
 These records, key to assess the health of fish stocks, are sent to the county fisheries officer. BMU is the main channel of communication between the SSF communities and government fisheries services for data capture, regulation enforcement, training or conservation initiatives.
A group of women sit on the ground under a tree, gutting and cleaning the fish they just bought from fishermen. Called mama karanga in Kenya, they will later sell these fish, grilled or fried, at open markets along the Mombasa - Malindi road a few kilometres away. To work at the landing site, these women must be registered at the BMU.
A group of women sit on the ground under a tree, gutting and cleaning the fish they just bought from fishermen. Called mama karanga in Kenya, they will later sell these fish, grilled or fried, at open markets along the Mombasa - Malindi road a few kilometres away.    To work at the landing site, these women must be registered at the BMU. 
About half of SSF workforce are women About half of SSF workforce are women like 47 year old Mary Chizi Mumbo, a single mother with three children, who has been a mama karanga for 20 years. She lives 4 kilometres from the beach and comes here every day. She buys fresh fish directly from the fishers and sells them as fried fish at the open air market in Kanamai where she co-shares a stall with someone else. 
 

 

Seasonality of the fish catch is a major challenge for Mary. During the low season, she may struggle to even buy fish. She would like to receive training to better manage her business and cope during the lean season.
Seasonality of the fish catch is a major challenge for Mary. During the low season, she may struggle to even buy fish. She would like to receive training to better manage her business and cope during the lean season. 
She belongs to a local fishers saving group, named after Ngoloko, a local sea spirit living in the mangroves. Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development (KEMSFED), a World Bank-funded blue economy programme, has just given a brand new boat to the Ngoloko self-help group. Mary Chizi Mumbo wonders if this boat investment will work out for her and the other group members.
She belongs to a local fishers saving group, named after Ngoloko, a local sea spirit living in the mangroves. 
Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development (KEMSFED), a World Bank-funded blue economy programme, has just given a brand new boat to the Ngoloko self-help group. Mary Chizi Mumbo wonders if this boat investment will work out for her and the other group members.

 

Aspirations. The Kanamai fishing community has plenty of aspirations for better livelihoods but it remains to be seen how much of this will be realised under Kenya’s Blue economy coastal development plans.
Aspirations. The Kanamai fishing community has plenty of aspirations for better livelihoods but it remains to be seen how much of this will be realised under Kenya’s Blue economy coastal development plans.

Effective engagement with local fishing communities will be at the heart of the AABS South-South collaboration to enable a climate resilient and inclusive blue transformation that works for people and nature.