VZCZCXYZ5561
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. 
 
¶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