Kenya partners with Norway to exploit deep sea

Kenya’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the deep seas remains largely unexploited and can make a significant contribution to the GDP, scientists have said.

The scientists from Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute say Kenya’s fish stock in the EEZ is estimated to be between 150,000 and 300,000 metric tonnes.

With commercial exploitation of the deep waters, Kenya can rake in between Sh50 billion and Sh90 billion a year.

However, the little fishing that has been taking place here has largely benefitted foreigners whose technological advancement means they  benefit more from the stocks than Kenyan fishers.

Kenyan fishermen cannot do deep sea fishing due to poor tools and lack of technical know-how.

KMFRI director general James Njiru on Monday said they are in talks with their Norwegian counterparts through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation to help them exploit this opportunity.

The Norwegians, known for their expertise in oceanography, have the requisite skills and tools to research and exploit the deep seas.

Kenya has a deficit of deep sea fishers and largely relies on fishing near the shore, which has depleted stocks.

Most of the commercial vessels that come to Kenya normally have to import deep sea fishers from Sierra Leone and other countries across the globe.

“This means jobs are going to other countries, yet our young Kenyans can take them up with proper training,” Njiru said.

To address this, the government in early 2021 initiated a project in which 1,000 Kenyan fishermen will be trained in deep sea fishing annually for five years.

The training, at Bandari Maritime Academy, is conducted by KMFRI and Kenya Fisheries Service.

Already, 500 Kenyan youth have been trained in the first half of the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The other 500 are expected to start training at the beginning of the next fiscal year.

The government has set aside another Sh1 billion for training of the next batch of 1,000 Kenyan fishermen in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

To further ensure that Kenyans benefit from Kenyan deep waters, the government made it a requirement for one to get a fishing licence in the country where they pick fishermen on board as crew members.

Such deep sea fishers earn an average of USD800 (about Sh92,500) a month, and a fishing trip goes up to six months in the waters.

Another Sh1 billion has been set aside for stock assessment, which will determine the exact amount, type, species and variety of fish that exist there.

The last stock assessment was done in 1982 by the Food Agricultural Organization (FAO).

“Since then we are not able to know what is in our waters. Right now, through KMFRI and government support through President Uhuru Kenyatta, we are able to get about Sh800 million for hiring of commercial vessels,” Njiru said.

The researchers have covered the entire Exclusive Economic Zone, which is about 42 per cent of the entire waters. This is about 242 square kilometres.

“With this concept of what is known, we can then start asking investors to invest in fisheries,” said Njiru.

The stock assessment will open up the blue economy.

“We are not talking about value addition yet. This will have a very big ripple effect in terms of the livelihood of Kenyans along the Coast,” Njiru said.

Other aspects of the blue economy such as bioprospecting have barely been scratched.

Bioprospecting is the search for plant and animal species from which medicinal drugs, biochemicals and other commercially valuable material can be obtained.

This is where the partnerships with the Norwegians come in.

“We are not capable of doing some of these things so far on our own. They are more technologically advanced than us, so we need them and other partners on board,” Njiru said.

The scientists, including Dr James Kairu, said Kenya has for a long time also been missing out on fish caught by foreigners in Kenyan waters.

According to the Kenya Fisheries Management and Development Act, 2016, 30 per cent of the fish caught in Kenyan territorial waters have to be landed in Kenya.

However, the lack of landing facilities has meant that Kenya has been losing out on this.

Uhuru’s administration is working to address this through the development of the Liwatoni Fishing Complex, the Shimoni Port and the Lamu port, which will provide adequate landing sites.

Scientist James Kairu said 80 per cent of fish in Kenya are from fresh water bodies, meaning the ocean remains largely unexploited.

He said with proper management of the ocean and fisheries, Kenya will not overrely on tourism for GDP.

Edited by A.N