The contribution of coastal Small-scale Fisheries towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A Kenyan case study

Abstract

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) have a significant contribution to economies of coastal countries, offering employment and healthy and affordable food for communities. Despite an increasing focus on SSFs worldwide, data and knowledge gaps still exist. Furthermore, SSF contribution to SDGs is neither known nor accounted for. Through the Fish2Sustainability (F2S) Project a case study was conducted in Kenya to assess interactions between SSF and SDGs using a Rapid Appraisal Tool and summarize interactions between SFF attributes and SDG targets for selected fishery. A participatory approach was used to collect information from SSF actors’ and experts in each fishery. Data was analyzed using Pycharm software in the Anaconda Package (Anaconda3 version 2023.03-1) to provide polar charts showing the contribution of each SSF towards the SDGs. Results showed variable contributions for different fisheries and that the contribution of Kenya’s SSF towards the SDGs is at a medium level.