The government will tighten fishing regulations to ensure it reaches its full potential in contributing to the country’s GDP.
On Monday, Agriculture CS Peter Munya chaired a meeting to finalise proposals in the Draft Marine and Inland Fisheries Regulations.
The sub-sector contributes about 0.8 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic product (GDP).
Devolution of functions from national government to county government brought challenges to the sector in terms of coordination of efforts towards the sustainable fisheries management.
For example poor management in the sector led to over-exploitation of fishermen leading to a decline in Nile Perch fishery.
The regulations seek to provide clarity on responsibilities of the county and national governments based of the Constitution.
Munya said fishing supports over 2 million people in the country as their daily source of income therefore the Ministry would like to ensure the sector has sustainable resources.
Kenya’s national annual fish production is about 167,000 tonnes valued at about Sh40 Billion at the farm gate price.
The sector generates Sh2.66 billion in foreign exchange earnings.
Other challenges in the sector include low investment in deep-sea fishing and inadequate manpower and skills in the sub-sector.
The absence of a substantive local investment in deep-sea fishing has seen Distance Water Fishing Nations exploit the EEZ fishery.
Under the Exclusive Economic Zones(EEZ), local fishermen are allowed to fish up to 200 nautical miles from the Kenyan shores but are operating at below five nautical miles.
"The Government of Kenya has applied to extend the boundary to 350 nautical miles limit for exploitation of bottom ocean seabed resources," said Munya.
Lack of appropriate fishing gear to explore the deep sea waters has also seen the country lag behind in achieving the full potential of fishing at the Indian Ocean.
The government has been undertaking capacity-building aimed at enabling local fishermen to go beyond the barrier reef for fishing expeditions.
The measures include training of local fishermen on deep sea fishing technology and procuring latest fishing gears and boats for local fishermen.
