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The Kenyan tuna and tuna-like fishing fleets comprise of the artisanal, semi-industrial, industrial and recreational fisheries which have an impact on IOTC’s priority species. The commercial artisanal fishing fleet is composed of a multi-gear and multi-species fleet operating in the territorial waters. The artisanal 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 2016 within the coastal waters. The main gears used are artisanal long line hooks, gillnets, monofilament nets and artisanal trolling lines.
In 2018, three (3) Kenya pelagic longline vessels operated in the IOTC area of competence. The IOTC species landed during the year included swordfish (294 tons), yellowfin tuna (108 tons) Bigeye tuna (28 tons) while other species combined (99 tons).
Catches of scombrids from artisanal fisheries were 3,476 tons, which is an increase from 1,931 tons recorded in 2017. Other IOTC species landed during the year were sailfish (427 tons), Swordfish (216 tons), Sharks (536 tons), Rays and Skates (879 tons) and hammerhead sharks (26 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.
