Along Kenya’s coast from Lamu up to the border with Somalia to the North, and Shimoni and the border with Tanzania to the South, the diverse communities that have called this land home for centuries have been the custodians of this stretch of the Indian Ocean, which supports marine life, and is a source of sustenance and livelihoods for men and women of all ages.

 

The communities, including the Bajuni and the nine groups of the Mijikenda, were holders of indigenous knowledge built and nurtured over centuries, governing a reciprocal relationship with the vibrant waters of the Indian Ocean and all they hold.

The ocean was sacred and life-giving; it fed them and offered an identity, holding sociocultural and economic significance for the communities.

They would take guidance from the council of elders regarding where to fish and where not to fish to allow stocks to regenerate.

The system was taken seriously, and the rules were strictly adhered to so as to avoid bringing curses to the community. Resource management was held as a moral obligation to the ancestors and to future generations.

In 2026, one of the greatest threats to Kenya’s ocean and inland waterways is Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing that depletes stocks and devastates marine environments as large international fishing vessels respond to the fast-growing appetite for seafood in their home markets.

It is estimated that Kenya’s Blue Economy loses an estimated Ksh45 billion ($348 million) a year to IUU fishing.

In February, the Kenyan government launched the National Blue Economy Strategy 2025–2030, setting a target to increase the sector’s annual earnings from 40 billion to 350 billion by the end of the decade.

A month later, the Parliamentary Committee on Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation reviewed the Fisheries Management and Development Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 29 of 2023) and recommended that the Bill be passed into law with a raft of amendments that bring the role of counties to the fore, seek to empower Beach Management Units (BMUs) as crucial entities in overseeing fishing activities, fostering accountability and community ownership, and serving as important information nodes for the sector.

This is an important development.

The elephant in the roomChina, a key Kenyan development partner, holds the leading position as the worst IUU fishing offender globally, according to the IUU Fishing Index. Well-documented behaviour points to the massive Chinese distant-water fleet as a major driver of worrying IUU trends off the Kenyan coast.

Numerous industry reports by conservation groups and local and international media outlets have repeatedly documented claims and testimonials regarding the fleet’s illegal and destructive fishing practices.

These include fishing without proper licenses; fishing in closed seasons; catching prohibited and juvenile fish; cruel practices such as shark finning; using prohibited gear such as fine mesh nets and explosives, and more, all of which undermine a sustainable Blue Economy and Kenya’s marine and environmental sovereignty.

If intercepted, the foreign crews and their mother companies pay the fines, which are a mere slap on the wrist in comparison to the profit they make selling their illegal harvest abroad. The fine is written off as the cost of doing business in Kenya.

Getting Around the System: Systematic Evasion of Automatic Identification Systems and CorruptionThe foreign vessels are reported to often ‘go dark’, switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders, evading detection from the Kenyan Coast Guard with its limited capacity to patrol the vast waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

Reports by Global Fishing Watch and Unseen Labs, organisations providing satellite surveillance and monitoring support, reported AIS blinkering of the East African coast, revealing a pattern of transponders being switched off and back on.

The crew of some of these vessels claim to be passing by the country en route to different destinations, only to ‘go dark’ and venture into Kenya’s territorial waters to engage in illegal trawling.

The Chinese vessels have also been found to participate in “Identity Laundering”, where they switch vessel identity codes and even hoist the Kenyan flag in order to operate in Kenyan waters.

Another tactic used by the IUU vessels is at-sea transhipment. In this case, large, refrigerated cargo vessels (also called ‘reefers’) act as mobile hubs on the high seas where the foreign crews deposit their illegal catch outside the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone, thereby avoiding the need to declare their catch.

The IUU vessels regularly work with shell companies registered in Kenya with local directors to avoid export regulations, and to be awarded (sometimes artisanal or semi-industrial) fishing licences and export permits that foreign companies would not qualify for.

The IUU fishing vessels often ‘Whitewash’ their catch, mixing the illegally caught fish with legal harvest and processing them together to avoid detection.

Human rights and international sanction violationsThere have been numerous reports of deplorable work and living conditions on the IUU fishing vessels. Local crew members endure physical violence, threats and intimidation, including that they will be thrown overboard; No medical care; Retention of identity documents by the senior, foreign crew members; And abusive conditions that have on numerous occasions led to death.

The effects of IUU fishing on local communities include environmental damage, food insecurity, loss of livelihoods due to unfair competition, debt cycles, erosion of the sociocultural fabric and way of life, and gross human rights abuses of impoverished members of these communities who join the crews on the very same vessels fishing illegally.

The large international fishing vessels edge out the community artisanal fisherfolk with their relatively small boats. To try and stay competitive and earn a livelihood, artisanal fishers are forced to venture into deeper waters, an undertaking that their boats and equipment often cannot handle.

This reality often puts their lives at risk and plunges them into debt as they need to approach middlemen as lenders to help them buy bigger engines and kits to venture further away from the shore.

He who pays the piper calls the tuneIn its report entitled Tide of Injustice - Exploitation and Illegal Fishing on Chinese Vessels in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO), the Environmental Justice Foundation reveals that it has identified a total of 95 Chinese vessels targeting tuna and tuna-like species in the SWIO, all of which fly the flag of China and use longline gear.

According to the report, there are also four Chinese-owned reefers operating in the region, presumably collecting fish and supporting the fleet.

The report addresses China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, as a massive, global infrastructure development strategy aiming to connect China with Asia, Europe, and Africa through massive land and maritime networks.“China often promotes a ‘win-win’ narrative that focuses on ‘sustainable’ growth, promising a range of socio-economic and ecological benefits for China and the host country alike.

In reality, however, local communities often only derive limited, if any, direct benefits from projects, and there are many instances of displacement of local communities, social unrest and environmental degradation associated with BRI projects.

Without a doubt, once assented to, the law will be put to the test as the national and county governments work towards implementing Kenya’s Blue Economy Strategy, working towards meeting the set economic targets, and juggling local needs and foreign investor interests.

Having strong legislation in place is only the tip of the iceberg.

What needs to be done: Drivers towards systemic changeIn the examination of the drivers towards systemic change in the Blue Economy, trust must be highlighted as the glue that holds the system together. “Building trust demands transparency, inclusivity, and sustained engagement. It requires recognising and addressing the power imbalances that often shapedecision-making processes. And it calls for long-term commitments, where stakeholders remain accountable not only to their goals but also to the communities and ecosystems they serve.” (Vikara Institute)Kenya has an invaluable opportunity to transform its Blue Economy in order to achieve its sector strategy.

The drivers for systemic change include creating multi-stakeholder forums and inclusive marine spatial planning in an effort to balance competing uses such as shipping, fishing, energy, and conservation; Governance assessments; and application of certification standards and traceability requirements.

These are only a few of the tools at the sector’s disposal where genuine commitment to transformation exists.

People-centred and participatory approach: Co-management through beach management unitsThe National Blue Economy Strategy and the laws guiding its implementation call for a careful application of the principles that worked in the past. Beach Management Units (BMUs), as currently constituted of volunteers who are themselves fisherfolk from the local community, have social trust. They hark back to times when the council of elders offered guidance on how to interact with and responsibly draw from the ocean.

Empowered and duly resourced BMUs are key to bringing Kenya’s Blue Economy Strategy to life. They are uniquely positioned to oversee the implementation of local rules, facilitate conflict resolution initiatives and serve as data hubs on harvest and the presence and activities of illegal vessels.

However, not only have the units been starved of resources, limiting their capacity to conduct patrols and engage in data collection, but they are also regularly evicted from traditional landing sites, which have been grabbed by private developers.

The BMUs and fisherfolk are then subjected to hefty fines of up to Ksh300,000 ($2,320) for landing their catch at what were traditional landing sites.

The proposed law is set to grant statutory rights to the BMUs, including promoting the provision of title deeds and necessary resources for the operation of the units.

Some of the initiatives under consideration to empower the BMUs by granting them a legal footing include: Registration of landing sites with communal titles; Financial sovereignty through the allocation of a percentage of levies charged in their jurisdictions being invested in conservation work; Transition into Savings and Credit vehicles; and enhancing mobile monitoring.

It is important to note that the BMUs have also been used as channels for whitewashing illegal catch by recording it as a local artisanal harvest. The need for accountability cuts across all facets and involves all actors in the sector.

Following the review of the proposed law, the Parliamentary Committee Chair, Kangogo Bowen (MP Marakwet East), stated that “The success of Kenya’s fisheries does not lie in the boardroom in Nairobi, but at the landing sites in Shimoni, Wich Lum, and Eliye Springs. If the BMU is not empowered, the law is just ink on paper.”ConclusionKenya is preparing to host the 11th Our Oceans Conference in the coastal city of Mombasa in June under the theme ‘Our Oceans, Our Heritage, Our Future.’The event is touted as a celebration of the living connection between people and the ocean, reflecting the heritage, cultures and coastal communities shaped by the sea. It can be expected to call for a shared commitment to secure a resilient, just, and thriving ocean for generations to come.

Ultimately, no number of well-intended conferences, resolutions and well-crafted policies can succeed without political will, investment of resources, commitment to implementation, good governance, accountability and swift, consistent enforcement of rules and regulations.

If systemic issues are left unaddressed, and corruption is allowed to thrive with foreign trawlers engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing continuing, then it will be impossible to attain the objectives of Kenya’s Blue Economy Strategy, making it nothing more than hot air.

The real work lies in ensuring that the interests of the local actors, the fisherfolk, the Mama Karangas (women artisanal fish processors), the distributors, are prioritised and safeguarded, the ocean and inland waterways are cared for and conserved, and that those engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing face the consequences of undermining Kenya’s environmental and economic sovereignty, and flouting the human rights of Kenyan citizens. This must apply even where the offending party has made significant investments in the country’s infrastructure.

 © Copyright 2026 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).