Marine fishery status in Kenya
The marine fishery in Kenya is predominantly small-scale and artisanal with about 11,000 fishers intensely fishing near shore coastal reefs using minimally selective fishing gears. Artisanal fishing is the major economic activity of the majority of the people living along the Kenyan coastline stretching all the way from Kiunga in the north to Vanga in the south (Tarbit, 1986). It provides employment, food and income, directly, as well as indirectly. Commercial fishing along the coast also promotes foreign exchange earnings (Bakari, 1997). The fisheries sector in Kenya plays an important role in the economic and social development of the country (GoK, 2012).
The Kenya?s State Department of Fisheries estimates that there are about 10,000 fishers directly engaged in fishing along the Kenyan coast(unpublished Dept of Fisheries, 2011 report).The national estimate is derived from the number of licenses issued for fishers and boats registered at the different landing sites. However, there are a number of problems with these methods. First, compliance is low, particularly for the registration
