Funzi Island, located in Msambweni, Kwale county, might be one of the most pristine Islands on the Kenyan coast, but the locals have nothing to smile about.
Artisanal fishing — which is the main economic activity in the area — is slowly becoming extinct. This is due to the fact that 80 per cent of the fishermen are old men and might not be alive or strong enough to work in the next few years. Majority of these fishermen are aged between 55 and 80.
According to the fishermen we talked to, the youth have refused to embrace fishing because it doesn’t pay. They instead move to the neighbouring towns of Mombasa and as far as Zanzibar in search of formal employment.
Juma Shee, a fisherman in Funzi, said: “We are the last fishermen in this region. When we are gone, the practice will obviously come to an end because the youth do not like fishing.”
Shee says the national and county governments should now start encouraging the youth to join the fishing industry. “With adequate support, the youth will eventually join this industry, which is now on its knees,” says Shee, who has been fishing for 33 years.
Fishermen in the region are complaining that they do not have capacity to go into the deep seas due to lack of modern fishing equipment.
Those with modern fishing boats, he says, can get up to 30kg of fish, but since the locals do not have such gear, many come home with 3-5kg of fish.
Harun Kondo, the secretary of the Bodo Beach Management Unit in Funzi, says unless the government empowers the youth, the fishing industry in the region will die.
“How do you expect someone to join a vocation that does not pay well? The government should help the youth by sensitising them on the importance of the sector and buying them modern fishing equipment,” says Kondo.
He says last year they registered 149 members, but this year only 43 have renewed their membership.
“This shows that even the old men in this sector are quitting and we might soon not have fishermen in this region at all,” adds Kondo.
Community Action for Nature Conservation, a lobby organisation at the Coast, has been carrying out empowerment programmes for fishermen in the region.
Richard Matano, assistant project manager at Canco, says: “Fishing should be fun and enjoyable and at the same time have good returns, but without support fishermen will continue to suffer.”
He says fishermen need to be trained on modern fishing practices. “Enlightening them is not enough if they are not supported with modern fishing equipment. Youth will only be interested if they see benefits,” Matano says.
The organisation’s project manager, Pauline Tatua, says cutting down of mangrove forests in Funzi Island destroys the fish breeding grounds .
“We need to conserve these mangroves to ensure we keep our environment safe,” says Tatua.
Funzi Island is rich in many varieties of fish and is also known to be Kenya’s best nesting site for different types of sea turtles such as the green turtle, hawksbill and leatherbacks.
These species are classified as either endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
“However, the turtles are becoming increasingly threatened in Funzi. As much as we want developments, our environment should not be destroyed because of negligence and ignorance,” says Tatua.