Shem Oirere

Shem Oirere

Contributing Editor reporting from Nairobi, Kenya

Shem Oirere is a Kenyan journalist who previously worked for daily newspapers as a general news correspondent, business reporter and sub-editor before turning to full-time freelancing. For the more than 20 years, he has covered various sectors of Africa’s economy including agriculture, food processing, and maritime industries. A graduate of the University of South Africa, he has traveled within and outside Africa covering various industry events that have a bearing on the continent’s economy on behalf of different international consumer and trade publications. He currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya.


Author Archive

Published on
March 26, 2025

Uganda’s proposed plan to restock fish populations in the nation’s lakes and rivers has been met with criticism from fisheries organizations and some members of the Ugandan parliament (MPs) who insist the program fails to address the real causes of fish depletion in the nation’s fisheries.

The Ugandan Parliamentary Budget Committee is seeking the support of MPs to allocate UGX 23 billion (USD 6.2 million, EUR 5.8 million)

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Published on
March 21, 2025

Kenya’s government has announced plans to repeal and replace the country’s fisheries act soon after it shelved contentious aquaculture licensing regulations.

The East African nation’s existing Fisheries Management and Development Act, originally introduced in 2016, has been criticized for, among other issues, a lack of clarity regarding how the national government and the 47 counties in the nation should delegate and manage

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Published on
March 13, 2025

Liberian President Joseph Boakai has suspended Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) Emma Glassco and directed that a probe be launched into allegations of corruption at the government agency.

According to the president, Glassco’s suspension was “due to managerial and financial inefficiencies and insulting behavior.”

“This conduct, considered unbecoming of a public official, was

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Published on
March 13, 2025

After initiating restructuring plans, dealing with personnel shifts, and sustaining several quarters in a row of mounting losses, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Saudi Fisheries Company said it has now set its sights on full financial recovery.

The company said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange it had accumulated losses of up to SAR 333 million (USD 88.7 million, EUR 81.8 million) as of 30 September 2024, which was equivalent to around 83

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Published on
March 5, 2025

The administration of U.S. Donald Trump has set plans in motion to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), attempting to freeze key funding for programs around the world aimed at global economic growth, democratic reform, and reducing poverty.

Though the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Trump’s emergency request to freeze nearly USD 2 billion (EUR 1.85 billion) in foreign aid on 5 March, that funding is not guaranteed to

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Published on
February 28, 2025

During the 2024 edition of the Aquaculture Africa Conference, which was held last November in Hammamet, Tunisia, aquaculture executives founded the Africa Aquaculture Business Leaders Network (AABLN) to accelerate the sustainable growth of fish farming across the continent. 

The establishment of the AABLN is being guided by the U.K.-based Global Salmon Initiative (GSI), a leadership initiative focused on improving sustainability in the

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Published on
February 27, 2025

Emelia Arthur, Ghana’s new fisheries and aquaculture development minister, has pledged to address accusations of high-level corruption in the West African nation’s fisheries sector, a lack of transparency, and other concerns that were raised when the European Union issued the country a second yellow card in 2021.

The minister, who succeeds Hawa Koomson in the role, told a parliamentary vetting committee ahead of her late January

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Published on
February 24, 2025

The Nigerian state of Lagos – home to the country’s most populous city of the same name – has established a subsidized program to support feed production and make it more readily accessible and affordable for farmers of both fish and poultry.

Lagos’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems recently unveiled the Ounje Eko Farmers’ Subsidy Program to help farmers access feed from approved manufacturers at a

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Published on
February 19, 2025

South Africa recently announced a 36 percent increase in quota allocation of key fish species for the nation’s small-scale fishers, but many within the country’s fishing sector have criticized the announcement for offering little clarity on the specific species involved and the coastal areas it will affect.

The South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) said in January that the increase would help the

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Published on
February 3, 2025

The Kenyan government has temporarily shelved contentious aquaculture licensing regulations to allow for more consultation between the government and fishing industry stakeholders.

Kenya Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho has picked a 12-member committee to review the regulations, which were initially expected to come into force in January.

Before the decision to review the regulations was made, the High

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