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Kenya's artisanal fisheries are vital for coastal livelihoods but face significant data collection challenges that hinder sustainable management. This study assesses the primary obstacles, including underreporting, the use of non-designated landing sites, and reliance on illegal fishing practices, which exacerbate data gaps and contribute to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Through structured survey data from 41 of the 212 mapped landing sites, this research quantifies these challenges and explores how citizen science and technology can improve data accuracy.
Findings reveal that 59.5% of fishers do not regularly report their catches, largely due to perceived lack of benefit, distrust in authorities, and logistical constraints. Seasonal variations, particularly during the southeast monsoon (April to September), contribute to an estimated 30% underreporting of total catches. Furthermore, 54% of fishers operate at non-designated sites, with 15% engaging in direct sales at sea to bypass data collection. 35.1% of fishers engage in night fishing, a key factor in data invisibility, as early-morning landings occur before enumerators arrive, particularly impacting tuna and other pelagic stocks assessments.
Technology offers promising solutions; 78.4% of fishers own smartphones, and 75.7% express willingness to adopt mobile reporting tools. However, actual mobile app usage remains low at 16.2%, limited by factors such as internet access and data costs. A positive correlation between smartphone ownership and reporting willingness suggests strong potential for technology integration, particularly in regions like Mombasa and Kilifi, where smartphone penetration is 77.8%. Engaging Beach Management Units (BMUs) through citizen science initiatives could also improve data coverage, as 70.3% of respondents are BMU members and 56.8% see BMUs as crucial for data collection.
To bridge data gaps, the study recommends implementing a centralized fisheries data management system for real-time reporting, enabling consistent data collection from remote sites and off-hours. Such a system would streamline data access, enhance transparency, and support effective fisheries management decisions. Combined with geo-tagged mobile reporting and strengthened BMU capacity, these advancements offer a robust pathway toward sustainable management of Kenya's artisanal fisheries. Future efforts should focus on piloting these solutions to assess their effectiveness in real-world settings, with continuous data updates to support data-driven decision-making in fisheries management.
