REPORTS FROM THE WORKING GROUPS
The last day of the seminar three working groups discussed topics conserning cutch statistics, research, management and development of the marine fishery. The discussions were guided by some questions given on beforehand. The reports from the groups were discussed in plenum and the final verions are printed here. The different working groups were chaired by:
| 1. | STATISTICS | Mr. Nzioka |
| 2. | RESEARCH | Mr. Oduor |
| 3. | MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT | Mr. Arunga |
1. THE STATISTICS WORKING GROUP REPORT
1.1. Guidlines for the discussion
1.1.1. Review of the present situation of Fisheries Statistics in the country
1.1.2. Recommendation for improvements on:
Administrative set up
Coverage
Sectorial (traditional E. industrial)
Geographic (inshore, offshore including EEZ)
Phases: production
processing
marketing
Statistical system adopted
Data collection method
Data processing
Data dissemination/publishing
1.1.3. Role of bilateral and multilateral organizations e.g.: NORAD, FAO (SWIOP) etc.
Provision of expertise and advise in setting up and executing improved statistical and data processing systems.
Provision of equipment for data collection, data processing and supervision to ensure quality and control of the data. Facilities to be considered include:
1.2. Conclusions
The traditional and Industral sectors were examined separately.
1.2.1. Traditional fisheries
of the 95 fishing villages along the Kenya Coastline only the major ones receive statistical coverage by resident fishscouts.
There is no mechanism for covering secondary stations at present, nor is complete temporal coverage carried out. Also, fish retained by fishermen for their own consumption is not recorded.
Consequently, it is not possible to evaluate accurate total landings from available information. Sufficient supervision on the recorders is lacking.
Recommendations
A new system of data collection should be evolved providing the following features: -
Data on fishing effort and landings at beaches not regularly covered by enumerators, and at times outside official working hours.
The data should be broken down by species, gear and effort using standards and classifications adopted at the Statistics Workshop in Mauritius 1983, and to include records of fish kept for home consumption.
Level of supervision should be increased.
Procedure of boat registration should be maintained and identification numbers painted on the boats.
New data sheets should be designed in view of computer analysis at the KMFRI. These sheets should be forwarded directly to officer responsible without prior processing.
Training course should be organised for enumerators and supervisors.
Collection of statistics by KMFRI should be maintained at least for one year following the implementation of the new system in order to debias previous records.
Data on marketing could be obtained through the Cooperatives.
1.2.2. Industrial fisheries
Legislative steps should be taken to oblige the fishing vessels to provide data as a condition for licencing. This data should include details on:
Vessel and gear.
Location, duration of each fishing operation together with catches
by species.
This data can be crosschecked by the landings.
Appropriate forms should be designed for each fishery as agreed in the Statistics Workshop in Mauritius. The tuna reporting forms should follow the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) standards.
As regards the tuna fishery in the EEZ Government may envisage establishing umbrella agreements with flag governments or organisations. These may include Japan, Taiwan, S. Korea, EEC, Spain, Mauritius and the USSR.
1.2.3. Assistance from international organisations
Assistance from the FAO and SWIOP should be requested as regards the designs of the statistical system, verification of species, design of data forms, training and formulation of legislation.
2. THE RESEARCH WORKING GROUP
2.1. Guidlines for the discussion
2.1.1. Which species group should be assigned the highest priority and what kind of research should be done?
2.1.2. Should research on fishing gear be assigned a high priority and, if yes, what kind of research and what can be done by existing institutes/ projects?
2.1.3. Is the present set up of fishery research institutes satisfactory and can the present manpower fulfil the research requirements?
2.1.4. Should something special be done for teaching fisheries service and other aspects of fisheries at the University level?
2.2. Conclusions
2.2.1. Research should be carried out on the inshore fishery especially the prawn fishery and other important commercial species to get an overview of the stocks exploitation pattern and their biology. This should be expanded to cover the environmental research to find the relationship between the stocks and environment, especially the migratory and recruitment pattern in time and space.
2.2.2. Experimental gear research should be carried out especially on Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in conjunction with SWIOP. Experiments on artisanal should be carried out to examine the possibility of harvesting the migratory species. Gear development and boat design should be given priority to improve the artisanal fishery.
2.2.3. Some of the limiting facilities in the Institute is the lack of a suitable research boat to survey within and beyond the reef. The Institute requires to acquire equipment such as purse seines, longlines to carry out surveys beyond the reef.
2.2.4. While the group felt that the University of Nairobi is providing a good training in hydrobiology through its Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses, it is suggested that the Dept. of Zoology of the University strengthen its fisheries component with the M.Sc. Course through the use of visiting Professors or experts in fisheries and some other ways. It was further suggested that the structure of the M.Sc. Course should be flexible enough to allow specific courses to be tailor made for particular individuals giving greater weight to Fisheries Biology.
3. THE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP
3.1. Guidlines for the discussion
3.1.1. What are the major problems affecting the exploitation of marine fisheries?
3.1.2. What options do you find appropriate for commercially exploiting the resources?
3.1.3. How can abundant but presently under-utilized fish species be made available for human concumtion?
3.1.4. Are there any management measures required to facilitate better utilization of the resources?
3.1.5. How can fishing be organized to provide more employment opportunities and greater participation by women?
3.1.6. Training
3.1.7. Mariculture
3.2. Conclusions
The group discussed management and development issues on the basis of the questions presented before the discussion. The questions are given below together with an agreed summary of the answers given by the group.
3.2.1. What are the major problems affecting the explotation of marine fisheries?
The resources are very scattered and a large part of the resources detected by acoustic and trawl surveys are not commercially exploitable.
Rough bottom limits trawl fishing in a large part of the area.
The information on the resources and fisheries in the reef and other near shore areas, where most of the fishing effort is now expanded, is insufficient or lacking completely.
The money obtained by the fishermen is just enough for them to survive, but there are no savings and no funds are available for improvement of gear and vessels. Many fishermen are not the owners of the boat they are using. The traders convert the money into investments outside the fishery section.
Tuna fisheries require specialised skills and an export oriented fisheries require a large input of capital. The skills for tuna fisheries are not yet highly developed in Kenya.
Deep sea resources of shrimp and lobster are difficult to exploit, mainly due to seasonally strong currents. It is important to survey the market for their export before any further investment is embarked upon. Trials to use the existing trawler fleet for a seasonal fishery should be encoveraged.
3.2.2. Which options do you find appropriate for commercially exploiting the resources?
The group engaged in a long discussion on the knowledge about the state of the resources, the rate of exploitation, in the exploted areas. The statistics are probably not good enough to draw firm conclusions, and in particular information about fishing effort and changes therein is not available. Ideally the present rate of exploitation, should be determined before any development, which means an increase in fishing effort, takes place.
New boats and gears could be tried out immediately and the provision of such gear to a few selected good fishermen might be the best way of stimulating development.
Managers should monitor the development of catchrates, or a drop may be a sign of overexploitation.
Small scale fishermen should become more directly involved in the marketing of this products, thus obtaining a higher share of the price paid by the consumer. The higher income would allow him to pay back loans obtained to improve gear and vessels.
Fishermen cooperative could purchase a vehicle and/or transport vessels to transport their products to a lager marketing centre (e.g. Mombasa).
3.2.3. How can abundant but presently under-utilized fish species be made available for human consumption?
There are probably no abundant underutilized resources, but the following two suggestions were made:
To encourage exploitation of the large demersal fish on the North Kenya Banks, by small scale fishermen, using hooks and lines, traps, or other gear of that kind.
Research would be required to determine size of boats, and gears to be used. A seasonal fishing could probably be set up from the Lamu area.
The introduction of fish aggregating devices should be encouraged. A fishery for small pelagic fish near Malindi was reported to having used FAD's in the part. Also elsewhere FAD's are being used to attract small pelagic species.
3.2.4. Are there any management measures required to facilitate better utilisation of the resources?
In general the group was of the opinion that regulation should aim at:
Fisheries research should provide more and better information on the state of the resources before any management measures can be put into effect. The existing regulation limiting trawling to waters 3 km offshore is not being effectively enforced at the moment.
3.2.5. How can fishing be organized to provide more employment opportunities and greater participation by women?
More employment could be created by attracting more tasks to fishermen's cooperatives, such as maintenance of vessels and gear, processing and transport of fish and perhaps even retail.
Women are engaged in gear repair, fish processing and marketing. Women should be encouraged to become members of cooperatives.
When training courses are given there should be a quota for women, special courses should be designed for them.
3.2.6. Training
Fewer young people enter the fishery then before, due to better basic education which keeps boys from going to sea at an early age. Skills in boat-building now held by older men are possibly going to be lost very soon.
Training is needed in boatbuilding, maintenance of engines and gear etc. On the spot vocational training, as provided by the KENYA/NORDIC project, seems to yield results.
The new Naivaska Fisheries Training Institute should undertake to train fishermen in boatbuilding, marine engine maintenance and gear technology.
3.2.7. Mariculture
Given the limited offshore resources and the success in mariculture obtained in Kenya and elsewhere, it is recommended that further investigations to expand mariculture in Kenya be encouraged.
