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 fisheries and aquaculture resources.
According to Pete Ondeng, the board secretary of the Lake Victoria Aquaculture Association (LVAA), Kenya’s existing law also “faced widespread criticism for being outdated and misaligned with the fishing sector’s evolving realities.”
“The decision to overhaul this act is, therefore, a welcome move,” he told SeafoodSource.
“The [new proposed legislation] seeks to provide a comprehensive framework for the development, governance, and investment of the oceans and fisheries resources,” Kenya National Assembly Clerk Samwel Njoroge said. “It also aims to align governance of the fisheries sector to [Kenya’s] constitution, which calls for sustainable use of our natural resources for the benefit of the people of Kenya and governance at the national and county levels of government.”
Though seafood stakeholders like Ondeng are pleased the act is undergoing changes, he worries new legislation could face similar issues.
“The process leading to this new bill has been unclear, with limited stakeholder engagement and poor communication, raising concerns that key industry interests may not have been fully considered,” he said. “[Stakeholders] are undoubtedly seeking for the proposed new legislation to clearly specify the role of each level of government in the management of the fisheries sector.”
The move to repeal Kenya’s fisheries act comes quickly on the heels of the LVAA successfully petitioning the High Court of Kenya to suspend controversial aquaculture licensing regulations.
The regulations in question sought to introduce a KES 50,000 (USD 384, EUR 369) operational licensing fee for those seeking to start commercial aquaculture enterprises and a landing tax fixed at 5 percent of the value of all landed fish.
LVAA called the licensing fees punitive and an impediment to the growth of Kenya’s aquaculture industry.
“Those regulations, currently suspended due to LVAA’s legal challenge, are government policies developed under and governed by the 2016 act,” Ondeng said.
He noted with the introduction of a new legal framework, the aquaculture regulations “may no longer stand as they were.”
Kenya’s National Assembly has extended the collection deadline for industry comments and recommendations on the new bill to early April after the LVAA petitioned Njoroge for more time to ensure a well-informed response.
“Given the far-reaching implications of this legislation on the fisheries and aquaculture industry, we respectfully request a 30-day extension to allow for meaningful consultation and robust engagement among our members and other key stakeholders,” LVAA chairman Ochieng Mbeo’s letter to the Clerk said. “The increasing prominence of the Blue Economy at both national and global levels underscores the need to ensure that this bill reflects the interests of all stakeholders.”
After the 30 days are up, the National Assembly’s departmental committee on blue economy, water, and irrigation will consider the public recommendations and then present them to Members of Parliament.
