The prolonged night fishing ban in Lamu has caused the collapse of cooperative societies in the region.
The few that still exist are struggling to stay afloat.
The ban has been in place since 2011, having been imposed following the earliest spate of terror attacks in which tourists and fishermen were kidnapped and held hostage by suspected al Shabaab militants.
The ban was majorly concentrated in Lamu East on areas close to the Lamu-Somalia border such as Kiunga, Ishakani, Madina, Kiwayu and Mkokoni, all of which are huge fishing hubs.
In May 2017, however, the government announced that the night fishing ban had been lifted and that the over 6,000 fishermen in the region were now free to conduct their trade at night.
That was, however, not to be as many fishermen were arrested anytime they tried fishing at night.
As a result, the once flourishing fishing cooperatives have collapsed .
The Kiunga, Ishakani,Madina and Kiangwe fishing cooperatives closed down in 2016.
