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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 2019, three (3) Kenya pelagic longline vessels operated in the IOTC area of competence. The IOTC species landed during the year included swordfish (388 tons), yellowfin tuna (188 tons) Bigeye tuna (51 tons), Blue sharks (66 tons) while other species combined (101 tons). Artisanal fishers landed 668 tons of Kingfish, 201 tons of sailfish, 1,170 tons of tuna and tunalike species and 564 tons of sharks and rays. Catches of scombrids declined compared to 3,476 tons recorded in 2018. 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.
