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The Kenyan tuna fishing fleet structure consists of an artisanal commercial segment and recreational fleets which all combined target and impact species under the IOTC mandate. The commercial artisanal fishing fleet is composed of a multi-gear and multi-species fleet operating in the territorial waters. The local boats are broadly categorized as outrigger boats or dhows which come with variants depending on the construction designs. It is estimated that 414 artisanal vessels are engaged in the fishing for tuna and tuna like species in 2017 within the coastal waters. The Main gears used are artisanal long line hooks, gillnets, monofilament nets and artisanal trolling lines. Catches of scombrids from artisanal fisheries were 1,931 tons which is a decrease from 3,431 tons, recorded in 2016. Other IOTC species landed during the year were sailfish (356 tons), Swordfish (166 tons), Sharks (466 tons), Rays and Skates (707 tons) and hammerhead sharks (20 tons). The main target species from the recreational fisheries are marlins and sailfish (Istiophiridae), swordfish (Xiiphidae) and tuna (Scombridae).Other species caught include small pelagic species such as barracuda, Spanish mackerel, Wahoo and sharks are landed. The artisanal fisheries and recreational fishing fleets have interactions with sharks where sharks are caught and the carcass is retained and fully utilised in artisanal fisheries and recreational trolling line fisheries have a voluntary shark release policy for sharks.
