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Coastal fish stocks declining in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Rebuilding fish stocks critical to increasing food production and conserving coral reefs.

A new WCS study published in the journal Ecosystem Health and Sustainability of fish traders in coastal Kenya shows that women largely occupied fisheries with the lowest profits and are not saving money while working in these fisheries. Management actions that intend to increase profits and sustainability, such as restrictions on use of gear that catch the smallest fish, have the potential to exclude female traders unless management also promotes social equity and gender coexistence.

Recently, the rights of small-scale fishers have increasingly been acknowledged in ocean governance because coastal development and various maritime activities have reduced traditional fishing grounds. More specifically, small-scale fisheries (SSF) are increasingly being threatened by ocean grabbing, pollution, and a lack of inclusiveness in decision-making processes. Although there are guidelines to resolve and reduce conflict, formal avenues to include fisher concerns, particularly in the context of ocean development and governance, remain a difficult task. Moreover, there is insufficient information on how fishers are impacted by coastal and marine development and how their concerns are included in the decision-making process. Hence, this study contributes to the SSF discourse by understanding and describing the characteristics and concerns of small-scale fishers from two coastal towns in East Africa with different levels of port development. Using data from perception surveys, focus group discussions, and participatory mapping, we discuss how fishers were involved in the decision-making processes to develop ports in Lamu, Kenya, and Bagamoyo, Tanzania. We found that fishers rely on nearshore ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs because of their accessibility since most fishers only use low-powered boats for fishing. Moreover, we found that the fishers' livelihoods were severely affected by port development and that they were excluded from the decision-making process concerning the port's construction and fishers' compensations. While some fishers believe that new ports in the region can increase their livelihoods by creating new markets and jobs, this is unlikely to happen since most fishers are not qualified to work in formal port-related jobs. We propose three steps that will allow fishermen to participate in port development decision-making processes and contribute to the development of a sustainable SSF. These include improving engagement with fisher

Tuna regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) have long suffered from the domination of distant water fishing nations (DWFNs) in decision-making processes. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is no exception. In recent years, coastal states of the Indian Ocean (IO) have tried to change this dynamic - led by countries like the Maldives, Kenya, South Africa, and Australia - to deliver greater benefits to the region, including East Africa. These countries are gathered under the informal group of G16 and have increasingly improved their involvement in the IOTC. Here, we ask how the rise of the G16 benefited coastal States through participation and collective understanding in the Indian Ocean. To do this, we analyzed proposals submitted by the G16 for conservation and management measures and the participant lists of the Commission meetings in the past ten years. Our results show that, individually and collectively, the G16 has played a significant role in shaping the IOTC's rules. The coastal States have established a good representation, with only a handful of Members absent in some years. Unveiling the efforts of coastal countries is essential to guide further capacity building in the region in terms of negotiations. We also call for international oversight of the actions of DWFNs, such as the EU, whose efforts often differ markedly from their claims of being sustainability champions. The G16's work is essential to keep the coastal States of the Indian Ocean in the driver's seat for managing Indian Ocean fisheries to benefit future generations.

Kenya is committed to the global efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation as seen through investments in various sustainable green and blue economy projects. In this review paper, we present the current status of what has been done, particularly on the blue carbon offset initiatives undertaken in the mangrove and seaweed ecosystems as well as the decarbonization activities at the port of Mombasa and which should form reference information for local, regional, bilateral/multilateral partners, scientists and other climate change stakeholders. The blue carbon offset projects involve mangrove conservation, reforestation and carbon credit sale as well as seaweed farming. The initiatives have several unique features amongst which are the community-led income generation systems that simultaneously act as an inducement for ecosystem preservation, co-management and benefits sharing which are recipes for economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability. A notable project impact is the conferment of economic power to the locals, particularly the women and the youth The model used embraces a collaborative approach involving multisectoral engagements of both the government, multilateral organizations, NGOs, and local communities. This integrated top-down (government) and bottom-up (local community) method deliberately targets the strengthening of economic development while ensuring sustainability.

Kenyan security agents have found an unspecified amount of weapons and drugs on a Norwegian-flagged ship they intercepted last week, a senior police officer said.

Kenyan security agents have found an unspecified amount of weapons and drugs on a Norwegian-flagged ship they intercepted last week, a senior police officer said.

East Africa's biggest port inthe Kenyan city of Mombasa said on Saturday it had dismissed 27workers it believed were behind a strike this week thatparalysed operations for two days and cost the

East Africa's biggest port inthe Kenyan city of Mombasa said on Saturday it had dismissed 27workers it believed were behind a strike this week thatparalysed operations for two days and cost the

The environmental impact of a coal plant on Kenya's coast is being underplayed.

Une série de films et de photographies du monde entier qui vise à enrichir notre connaissance, notre appréciation et notre compréhension de l'économie bleue.

Marine census planned for coastal waters on March 23.

What Kenya's government can do to protect, and benefit from, ocean resources.