Blue Economy: What Kenya Is Missing And How To Tap Potentials From Indian Ocean

Kenya and Tanzania's coastal and marine waters are endowed with myriad resources, contributing to food and nutritional security, poverty alleviation, government revenues, and much more.

The Blue Economy is a key pillar of Kenya's Vision 2030 development agenda, which is geared towards addressing food security, creating wealth, employment, and environmental health for social and economic human wellbeing.

Blue Economy in Kenya

The sector has different subsectors, including Fisheries and aquaculture. The fisheries sector is further categorized into Commercial (Big vessels from European Union and China) and Small-Scale fisheries (small boats fishers).

The development of the fisheries sector in Kenya relies heavily on the sustainable utilization of the Blue Economy resources.

The Coastal, and Marine fisheries of Kenya are impacted by several challenges including; weak legislative and policy frameworks, weak Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) systems to deter IUU fishing, and limited investment toward fisheries development from both the government and private sector.

Speaking on the potential of the Blue Economy in Kenya, marine expert on aquaculture at Kenya Marine Fisheries and Research Institute, Jane Kiguta, shares that it is an underexploited.

Are there challenges facing Kenya’s Blue Economy?

"The potential is huge. Marine resources for example are not fully exploited. Kenya for instance needs fishing vessels to harvest fishes discovered in the deep sea. Aquaculture has also been found to be an alternative to terrestrial agriculture which heavily relies on rains which are unpredictable. There are smart technologies that support aquaculture," Said Kiguta.

Unregulated (IUU) fishing remains one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems due to its potent ability to undermine national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability of the blue economy in both countries.

Speaking on the potential of blue economy in Kenya and Tanzania, Chairman, South West Indian Ocean Tuna forum (SWIOTUNA), Hadley Becha, intimates that the fishing capacity for both countries is still facing huge setbacks.

"In a country like Kenya or Tanzania, the potential is there but the capacity is lacking, in terms of both fishing methods and vessels. Most of us don't even know how to use long liners to fish. There is no training for this in Kenya. There is in Tanzania but not Kenya.

“This kind of fishing is also regulated by international bodies and deep sea authorities including the Indian Ocean Tuna fisheries Commission, who determines fishing quarters of each country. For you to get a bigger quarter you have to reach a certain data, most of ours is small scale," the expert shared.

He added that there are other conditions deterring both countries from the goals including terms and conditions like fish landing, which would ensure the big vessels (flagged) land a certain portion of catch in the country.

"We do not have a fishing port in Kenya so the vessels do not land. There was supposed to be one in Liwatoni but it's not operational, some guys came and sabotaged them. If we had a designated port, the foreign vessels could land fish and of course this could spur our economy. So this is standing in the way of us reaching out full potential. There is a port in Tanzania's Dare Salam but it's multifunctional, so still not for commercial vessels," he said.

Who benefits from Kenya’s challenges in Blue Economy?

These challenges mean that foreign countries remain the biggest beneficiaries of the blue economy on both waters.

An extensive analysis by the EJF on the Chinese DWF, claimed illegality and abuses rife at regional and global scales.

It came up with a series of recommendations to competent authorities, including the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), key market states to whom seafood at high risk of being caught illegally or using forced labuor has been linked, and coastal states in the SWIO.

Key to these recommendations was the need for transparency measures to be enshrined throughout fisheries management structures and regulations, so as to better reveal the practices of illegal operators and to mitigate the impacts of their harmful activities on both people and planet.

How China influences Blue Economy in Indian Ocean

China is one of the countries that has invested heavily in the SWIO’s blue economy, including a range of ports and fisheries infrastructure, as well as highlighting it as a key area of growth and partnership with coastal nations in the region.

The terms of these investments are often opaque, and more broadly concerns have been raised about their environmental sustainability and impacts on coastal communities.

To these claims though, some experts in the sector agree, others refute while others refuse to comment or take sides.

"That is European Union propaganda because most of the vessels are European. Trying to use China as a scape-goat while they are the real culprit," comments Becha.

What remains evident is that there has been limited investment into commercial fishing within the Kenyan EEZ despite its huge potential to yield between 100,000-200,000 MT per annum.

What Kenya should do to achieve Blue Economy potential

Moreover, in realising a sustainable blue economy in Kenya, the government has to undertake adequate engagement with the non-state stakeholders, civil society organizations, the private sector, fisher communities and others.

In addition to that, proper legal and policy tools, are also crucial for the implementation of sustainable blue economy plans in Kenya, and thus non-state actors are essential towards realizing that.

The non-state actors have a role and responsibility in shaping the policies and holding the government accountable for decisions they make.

The sustainable management and utilization of blue economy resources should therefore incorporate the provisions of several regional, and international fisheries frameworks including those of the; Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC), Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Southwest Indian Fisheries Commission MTCs guidelines, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (the Port State Measures Agreement, and the International Plan of Action on deterring IUU fishing), as well as the UN Sustainable Development agenda 2030.

The government hasn’t operationalised the Oceans and fisheries policy, the National Plan of Action-IUU fishing, as well the national blue economy strategy, etc, as well as reviewing the national tuna fisheries management and development strategy.

These tools are crucial to enabling sustainable management and development of the blue economy, and fisheries in the country, and thus the national government should fast-track their adoption and implementation, hence addressing the myriad challenges facing the blue economy industry in Kenya.

The writer is a Blue Economy expert. The views expressed here are the writer’s and do not in any way represent the position of TUKO.co.ke.