Fishing rules must protect the community, ecosystem

By  Jackson Kiplagat

Chief Executive Officer

WWF-Kenya

A fish swimming off the coast of Kilifi does not know where the county boundary with Kwale begins. A coral reef does not recognise where fisheries law ends, and environmental law starts.

Nature operates as an interconnected system. Yet, Kenya’s fisheries management remains affected by fragmented mandates, gaps in coordination and institutions that do not always work together effectively. The consequences are felt in pressure on fish stocks, uncertainty for coastal and lakeside communities, and a blue economy whose promise has yet to be fully realised for many small-scale fishers.

Kenya now has an important opportunity to change this.

The Fisheries Management and Development Bill, 2023, passed in the National Assembly with amendments on August 5, 2026 and is now before the Senate. If enacted, it could strengthen Kenya’s fisheries framework through more integrated and science-based management. But passing a law is one thing; passing a law that works on the water and at the landing site is another.

As senators consider the Bill, three priorities deserve particular attention.

First, strengthen the legal standing of community co-management.

Fishing communities are not simply beneficiaries of fisheries management. They are essential partners in it. Through Beach Management Units and other co-management arrangements, communities help protect breeding grounds, discourage destructive fishing practices and manage the resources on which their livelihoods depend.

The Bill expressly provides for Beach Management Units. The Senate should go further by giving clearer legal recognition to Co-Management Areas and Joint Co-Management Areas, and by clarifying how these arrangements connect with county governments, fisheries management plans and financing.

Legal certainty would protect the work already undertaken by communities and government while giving fishers a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their livelihoods.

This approach can also advance conservation without excluding the people who depend on these ecosystems. Community-managed areas should be recognised where they demonstrate effective governance, respect rights and deliver lasting benefits for biodiversity. Conservation must be measured by results, not labels.

Second, make coordination work in practice.

Fish stocks, rivers and fishing grounds cross administrative boundaries. The institutions responsible for fisheries, mangroves, wildlife, environmental protection and county development therefore cannot operate as isolated units.

Where mandates overlap, or information is not shared, decisions can be delayed, public resources duplicated, and communities left navigating different requirements.

The Bill includes provisions on coordination with counties, county fisheries management plans, relations between national and county governments, and the role of counties in supporting fishing communities. The Senate should ensure these provisions produce practical collaboration through shared data, aligned management plans, joint action on shared fisheries and predictable ways of resolving disputes.

Habitat protection

Science must underpin this coordination. Decisions on fishing effort, stock recovery, habitat protection and enforcement should be informed by credible, regularly updated evidence. Public reporting on the condition of Kenya’s fisheries would strengthen both accountability and confidence in the decisions taken.

Third, ensure financing reaches implementation.

The proposed Fish Levy Development Fund is an important foundation. Its value, however, will depend on whether resources reach the activities that make fisheries management work: research, monitoring, enforcement, habitat restoration, safety at sea and community-led management.

The law should provide clear allocation criteria and transparent reporting so that approved management plans and local conservation efforts are adequately supported. Predictable financing is also important for responsible investment. Businesses need reliable fisheries data, clear licensing, consistent enforcement and confidence that the natural resource base will remain productive.

Fisheries management does not ultimately succeed in parliamentary records or conference declarations. It succeeds or fails at the landing site.

It succeeds when a small-scale fisherman/woman can earn a sustainable living because fishing rules are fair, habitats are protected and destructive practices are addressed. It succeeds when women traders and processors have access to healthy fish stocks, safer working conditions and better infrastructure. And it succeeds when aquatic ecosystems remain productive enough to support food security and livelihoods for future generations.

The Senate has a rare opportunity to bridge the gap between policy and reality. By giving communities clearer legal standing, strengthening coordination and securing predictable financing, lawmakers can deliver a law that protects both Kenya’s aquatic wealth and the people who depend on it.

The true test will not be the number of clauses enacted, but whether Kenya achieves healthier fish stocks, stronger livelihoods and functioning ecosystems. That is the fisheries law the country needs.

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