Assessment of the Kenyan Marine Fisheries from Selected Fishing Areas

Abstract

Lack of information on fish stocks, in addition to inadequate and unreliable data, have been a major concern in the management of marine resources in Kenya. A need to improve methodology in data collection and stock assessment has been recognized. Data collected by the Fisheries Program of the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, from Lamu (north coast of Kenya) and Vanga (south coast of Kenya) in 2002 and 2003, was used to demonstrate various analyses. Mapping of catch distributions in the two areas, CPUE calculation, species composition, length distributions and length weight relationships for selected species were performed. Results show that three species: Lethrinus, Lutjanus and Siganus are targeted in Lamu and Vanga. In Vanga, smaller fish (juveniles) are caught compared to Lamu. No conclusions could be made due to the limited data available. However, recommendations are made on improvement of the data to be collected and the type of analyses to be performed in the future when adequate data is available.