Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06NAIROBI4048
2006-09-18 09:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Nairobi
Cable title:  

KENYA SUSPENDS EXPERIMENTAL SHRIMP TRAWLER OPERATIONS

Tags:  EFIS SENV ECON ETRD KE 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #4048/01 2610910
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180910Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4359
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2835
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 1329
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS NAIROBI 004048 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE PASS USTR WILLIAM JACKSON

STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID

USDOC FOR NOAA AND NMFS

DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/RA, AF/EPS, OES/OMC CLAYTON STANGER

TREASURY FOR OREN WHYCHE-SHAW

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIS SENV ECON ETRD KE
SUBJECT: KENYA SUSPENDS EXPERIMENTAL SHRIMP TRAWLER OPERATIONS
PENDING RELEASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY

REFS: (A) 09/08/06 STANGER-FLEITMAN/ALDRIDGE EMAIL
(B) 08/14/06 STANGER-FLEITMAN EMAIL

(U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

UNCLAS NAIROBI 004048

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE PASS USTR WILLIAM JACKSON

STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID

USDOC FOR NOAA AND NMFS

DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/RA, AF/EPS, OES/OMC CLAYTON STANGER

TREASURY FOR OREN WHYCHE-SHAW

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIS SENV ECON ETRD KE
SUBJECT: KENYA SUSPENDS EXPERIMENTAL SHRIMP TRAWLER OPERATIONS
PENDING RELEASE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY

REFS: (A) 09/08/06 STANGER-FLEITMAN/ALDRIDGE EMAIL
(B) 08/14/06 STANGER-FLEITMAN EMAIL

(U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: Kenya has temporarily suspended experimental
trawler operations pending a September 21 stakeholders' meeting,
when an environmental impact statement on the effects of trawling
for shrimp within three to five nautical miles is to be released.
The decision to suspend, rather than ban, trawler operations has
spawned negative reactions from small scale fishermen and
environmentalists, who claim that the trawlers deplete fish stocks,
wreck the coastline, and damage fishing nets and gear. Should the
study determine that trawling can be adequately monitored and the
coastline protected, the government may try to amend the Fisheries
Act of 1991 to allow commercial fishing within three nautical miles,
but the issue may become politically controversial. Licensed shrimp
boats will continue to be required to use turtle excluder devices
(TEDs),and the GOK would likely welcome US inspection teams to
verify their use. End Summary.

--------------
Commercial Trawler Operations Not Suspended
--------------


2. (SBU) EconOff and Econ Specialist met with Kenya Fisheries
Department Deputy Director Mathias Wafula on September 12 to discuss
contentious press reports on shrimp trawlers and the possibility of
a TEDs inspector visit by State/OES. Wafula dismissed media reports
that Kenyan Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Development Joseph
Munyao had suspended trawler operations on August 24 in response to
vehement complaints from local fishermen and environmentalists that
the trawlers were depleting fish stocks, dredging near the coastline
in violation of a Kenyan regulation prohibiting commercial fishing
less than five nautical miles from shore, and damaging fishing nets,
boats, and other gear.


3. (SBU) Wafula explained that the four Kenyan trawlers were part

of a two-year government study to determine the environmental impact
of allowing trawler activities within three to five nautical miles
of the shoreline. The supervised experimental trawling took place
near the Sabaki River delta which empties into Malindi Bay and where
the Tana River enters Kipini Bay. The Fisheries Department
undertook the study after domestic shrimp exporters complained the
five nautical mile limit made shrimp trawling unprofitable. During
the two-year study period, the trawlers' catch in the Sabaki River
and Tana River estuaries generated over USD 5.3 million a year in
exports (i.e., 8.6 percent of the country's annual USD 61.4 million
in fish exports).


4. (SBU) Wafula stated the government permitted the trawlers to
operate between three-to-five nautical miles to determine whether
sustainable trawling for shrimp could be achieved without damaging
the environment and ruining small-scale fishing. He claimed that
marine biologists and Fisheries Department officers were present on
each trawler. In addition, the ships were fitted with "Vessel
Monitoring Systems" (VMS),which enabled the Fisheries Department to
monitor their movements and activities. Asked whether the ships
used TEDs, Wafula responded that he personally insisted that they do
so.


5. (SBU) Wafula said the study's findings would be released at a
September 21, 2006 stakeholders' meeting in Malindi. Stakeholders
include the Fisheries Department, the Kenya Marine and Fisheries
Research Institute (KEMFRI),the Kenya Marine Forum, the Kenya
Wildlife Service, the Marine Conservation and Fisheries Development
Center, the Association of Trawler Operators, the Coastal
Development Authority, Watamu Turtle Watch, marine
environmentalists, and small-scale fishermen. According to Wafula,
should the study determine that shallow water shrimp trawling can be
adequately monitored and the coastline protected, the government is
prepared to amend the Fisheries Act of 1991 to allow commercial
fishing within three nautical miles of shore. Any amendment would
insist on the use of TEDs. In the event trawling is permitted,
Kenya would welcome TEDs inspections conducted by State and NOAA

investigators. Should the findings argue against the three-nautical
mile limit, Wafula believes, Kenya will maintain its five-nautical
mile limit and will likely not issue any new commercial licenses.
Either way, the GOK also intends to establish "Beach Management
Units" to protect the coastal environment and the livelihoods of the
country's small-scale fishermen, who net about 175,000 metric tons
per annum and rely on their catch for their livelihoods.

--------------
Tuna Trawlers A Bigger Concern to GOK
--------------


6. (SBU) In contrast to the heightened attention paid to the shrimp
trawlers, Wafula suggested that more focus ought to be given to the
fifty foreign vessels catching tuna in Kenya's and Somalia's
200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. Broadly hinting that
several "long-liners" might be doing more than simply catching fish,
Wafula said increased surveillance of deep sea ships near the
Kenya-Somalia maritime border is needed. Since there is no Somali
government to monitor them, Wafula appealed to the USG to help Kenya
fit the ships with VMS's "so we can keep track of their activities."
He noted that in July 2006, the European Union and the Food and
Agricultural Organization vowed to help Kenya and several other
Indian Ocean nations develop deep sea surveillance capabilities as
part of an agreement, the "Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries
Agreement," signed with the Southern Indian Ocean Deepwater Fishers'
Association.


7. (U) Kenya's oversight of deep sea fishing will also rely, in
part, on a $44 million World Bank/UNDP-Global Environment
Facility-sponsored study to be commissioned in Mombasa in November

2006. Entitled the "South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project," it
aims to assess the health of fish stocks in the waters of Kenya,
Tanzania, Mozambique, the Comoros, Seychelles, South Africa,
Mauritius, and Reunion. KEMFRI will serve as project coordinator.
In early September KEMFRI executive director Dr. Johnson Kazungu
told the press that "the findings of the study would enable us to
advise the government on how it should review license fees for
fishing vessels and how (deep) sea fishing should be done" and
regulated. Kenyan media also quoted the coordinator of the Seaman
Assistance Program, Andrew Mwangura, demanding that government put a
stop to the considerable illegal fishing going on in the EEZ. Once
a proper monitoring regime is in place, the GOK intends to
re-license the deep sea trawlers - but for a much stiffer fee. At
present a foreign deep sea trawler pays an annual fee of USD 20,000,
which Wafula expects to be increased to $100,000.


8. (SBU) Comment: Kenya's coastal villages are among the poorest,
most marginalized in the country, with minimal infrastructure or
government services. They are also largely Muslim and regard the
GOK's neglect as purposeful marginalization. If Fisheries allows
the trawlers to continue to fish in the three-to-five nautical mile
zone, the fishermen, their villages, and perhaps their MPs are
likely to reject the study as corrupt and react strongly to a
perceived threat to their livelihood. Thus, the decision on
trawling closer to shore is likely to become politically
controversial and depend on non-technical factors.


9. (U) Judging from the various initiatives touched upon by the
Kenyan Fisheries Department Deputy Director, it is clear that
Fisheries wants to help small-scale coastal fishermen and commercial
fish exporters exploit Kenya's fish resources more effectively - but
in a way which does not do irreparable harm to the coast or severely
deplete fish stocks. Kenya is open to USG assistance in this
balancing act and would benefit from the expertise NOAA and OES/OMC
officials could offer to both naturalists and fishermen. End
Comment.

Ranneberger