Fisheries
Aquaculture growth puts Kenya’s aquatic biodiversity under pressure
Fish ponds , Photo courtesy MEDA Kenya’s growing fish farming and fishing activities are putting increasing pressure on aquatic ecosystems, threatening fish species, habitats and other forms of biodiversity, a new assessment has found. During a virtual dissemination of the findings of a comprehensive biodiversity assessment of the Lake Victoria Region and the Coast of…
Coastal Stakeholders Unite to Tackle Declining Fish Stocks and Protect Kenya’s Blue Economy
Senior Kenya Fisheries Service officials led by Director General Daisy Muriuki (second left) and Blue Ventures East Africa Regional Director Nelly Otieno (third left) following proceedings at the 2026 Annual Partners Forum | Photo Courtesy of Blue Ventures Kenya’s coastal communities are at the centre of renewed efforts to protect marine resources, reverse declining fish…
Coastal Communities Turn to Advocacy to Defend Their Marine Resources and Livelihoods
Hadley Becha, CANCO Executive Director, listening to a reaction from one of the participants at the Advocacy and Governance Training in Msambweni, Kwale County | Photo By Mazera Ndurya At the crack of dawn Biasha Omar is already up and running preparing to set off for Mkunguni beach, a place where she ekes her living…
Why Better Data Could Unlock the Future of Kenya’s Small-Scale Tuna Fishery
Participants at a two-day workshop on Fisheries Governance and Decision-Making Processes at National and Regional Levels during group discussion| Photo By Mazera Ndurya As hundreds of artisanal fishers along the Kenyan coast return from the Indian Ocean with assorted catches ranging from frigate tuna and bullet tuna to kingfish, barracuda, and rabbit fish for the…
Coastal Communities Find Their Voice in the Fight for Marine Justice
Grantees from the GEF SGP UNDP funded projects participating in group discussion during the advocacy and policy training organized by strategic partner CANCO in Msambweni, Kwale County| Photo By Mazera Ndurya From cross-border harassment of fishers to the privatization of mangrove conservation, community groups in Kenya’s Shimoni-Vanga seascape are stepping up their advocacy efforts to…
Hope Beneath the Tides: New Strategies Target Sustainable Octopus Fishery in Coastal Kenya
Amina Ahmed (Mama Pweza), chairperson of Shanga Ishakani Women Fishers Group displaying one of her catches of the day in Lamu| Photo By TNC In the sunbaked creeks of Lamu and Kwale counties, women like Amina Ahmed popularly known as “Mama Pweza”, wade through the ocean daily for octopus, a lifeline for food security and…
Seagrass Loss Raises Alarm as Kenya Marks World Seagrass Day 2026
Healthy Seagrass| Photo Courtesy On March 1, 2026, globally acknowledged as World Seagrass Day, the Kenyan coastal community was not left behind in celebrating such an important marine ecosystem. Fishers, conservation activists, civil society organizations, scientists and government officials converged in Kilifi for a day that was filled with wide-ranging activities including a beach clean-up…
Jomvu Women: From Frying Fish to Fattening Crabs Along Kenya’s Vanishing Coast.
One of the group members looking for snails which and little fish used for feeding the crabs. Photo by Asha Bekidusa. In the humid, salt-slicked air of Jomvu Creek, Mombasa County the narrative of women in fish processing and distribution is changing. Initially women here were known as mama karanga meaning women fish fryers. These…
Casting Nets of Hope: How Coastal Youth Are Fighting Crime and Climate Change Through Fishing
At sunrise in Junda beach, Kisauni, Mombasa County, the sea looks calm and forgiving. Small wooden boats rock gently near the shore. Young men pull their nets, getting them ready for the day’s work, while others smear grease along the cracks of their old boats, carefully sealing them so no water leaks in when they…
Voices From The Coast: Pate Island Communities Restoring Mangroves, Reviving Livelihoods
A woman from Pate Kwabagua preparing the hapahapa pots for mangrove seedlings under the Pate Resources and Tourism Initiative (PRATI), with support from Wetlands International Eastern Africa |Photo by Wetlands International Eastern Africa On the far-flung shores of Pate Island in Lamu County, the ocean is more than a backdrop; it is life itself. Generations…
