Red Sea Maritime to go into partnership with the Mombasa County Government to revamp and redevelop the fishing industry

Red Sea Maritime has proposed a public private partnership to the Mombasa County Government to revamp and redevelop the fishing industry in Kenya, off the coast of Mombasa county.

Red Sea Maritime is a Maritime and logistics company located in the UK and East Africa - Kenya. We are positioned as change agents for the African continent and its people. The company’s business concept is to provide support services in the maritime industry. We assist with the sales and chartering of vessels, boats and all types of sea going machinery. We also render procurement services in terms of supply vessels, tugboats, search and rescue boats.

The Mombasa County Government played host to directors of the company who presented the proposal to set up a fish processing and storage facility with a view to exporting seafood. Red Sea Maritime is determined to bring jobs, business opportunities and progress to the people of Mombasa County. To this end, a proposal has been submitted to the Mombasa County Government with a larger presentation to be done within the next 3 months. The position is to return to Mombasa with a business plan on the business operations, profit & loss projections and so forth.

Presently, we are in the initial stages of developing the business plan, we are heavily into research now in terms of off takers of the fish and the business structuring in general. It is important to note that our team was well received by the Mombasa County Government and consequently departed with an acknowledgement letter and a non-disclosure agreement.

Our aim is to assist the Mombasa County administration nurture, develop and boost the fishing industry of Mombasa County. We have studied the terrain and have understood that the main thrust/ factors necessary for boosting the industry are equipment, manpower, storage/ processing facilities and product buyers. Mombasa County is blessed with a rich and beautiful coastline, which we believe must be fully tapped into.

During our research, we found that the current fish production is approximately 9, 000 – 15, 000MT of product annually, however, there is opportunity to grow this industry to produce up to 200, 000MT in the same period.  Our approach is to close the gap between local fishermen and the foreigners, while creating opportunities for locals to exploit the marine resources available are three pronged –

• In conjunction with the Mombasa County, source for and deliver two (2) new model fishing trawlers with Sonar systems capable of tracking schools of fish 1,500m/s or 4, 921 ft/s deep
• Set up a fishing scheme, that will see young men and women come together to apply for support in terms of securing vessels for fishing and other factors of the industry
• Employ local sailors/ fishermen to man the vessels, while we open up opportunities for training new sailors/ fishermen
• Set up a storage and processing facility for the products

During our research and engagement with industry majors, it is apparent to us as a business that the fishing industry is a viable and profitable industry. Our business site - Mombasa County, Kenya is a warm and friendly environment, the social and political risks have been assessed and have been deemed as quite low and easily managed. Competition is evident, however, not stiff, which creates a fantastic opportunity for investors. We are interested in development partners in terms of technical and commercial support.

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Contact us if you are interested to know more about the Red Sea Maritime - business project in the fishing industry in Kenya, Mombasa.

Level 33, 25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, England, E14 5LB

T: +44 793 111 0000    E: ahmed@redseamaritime.co.uk    www.redseamaritime.co.uk

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Kenya fisheries has huge untapped potential

Kenya is losing an estimated Sh10 billion annually due to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in its territorial waters, according to the government.

According to the government, the Kenya Indian Ocean produces only 5 per cent of the 174,000 metric toners of the fish produced in the country.

Kenya coastline has a potential of producing Sh200 billion fish products, but local fishermen have not been able to fully exploit the blue-economy, Njaramba says.

In the Word, China is the world supplier of fish product with a net worth of Sh14.1 trillion, followed by Vietnam (Sh580 billion), USA Sh 510 billion), and India (Sh460 billion) annually.

Njaramba says Kenya has a potential of being in the same league with China, Indonesia, Chile and Vietnam, who are among the biggest fish product suppliers of the world.

Mercy Mghanga, the vice chairperson of the Mombasa Beach Management Unit, said the boat has improved the fishing industry since the launch of MV 001.

She says the only challenge left now is to increase storage capacity for the fish to supply a bigger market and promote employment.

“We want the storage capacity to be increased to supply a bigger market,” she says.

Njaramba says the county has already identified eight places where they will build storage facilities for local fishermen.

“The eight places are fish landing sites. We will build storage facilities for our fishermen to store their products,” he says.

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Kenya is set to increase its stake in the US $4 billion dollar a year global tuna fisheries industry

Kenya is set to increase its stake in the US $4 billion dollar a year global tuna fisheries industry after the government launched the country’s first ever Tuna Fisheries Development and Management Strategy.

Speaking during celebrations in Mombasa to mark World Fisheries Day celebrated every year on November 21st, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Felix Koskei noted that Tuna Fisheries resources are significant in the global fish supply chain with their trade being estimated at about 356 Trillion shillings (US $4 Billion).

“There is great potential to increase the economic benefits of our people, arising from these under exploited tuna and tuna-like fisheries.  The Tuna Fisheries Development and Management Strategy is a step towards the full realization of these economic benefits,” said the Cabinet Secretary.

The Cabinet Secretary further noted that the strategy seeks to build effective governance system of the marine fisheries sectory by providing institutional framework to ensure compliance with relevant national laws and international standards and agreements.

“At the end of the implementation period, the strategy targets to transform tuna fisheries into productive and sustainable modern, commercially oriented coastal and oceanic fisheries with direct positve impacts to employment, wealth creation, improved outcomes and foreign exchange earnings,” noted the Cabinet Secretary.

WWF Coastal East Africa Initiative Fisheries Programme Officer Edward Kimakwa noted that this is a big move for Kenya that would begin the process of positioning the country to reap more benefits from the highly lucrative global tuna industry.  He however noted that a lot would need to be done to lay down necessary infrastructure to maximize benefits.

“This is a big move by the Kenyan government to position the country in the active and lucrative global tuna industry.  However, a lot still needs to be done.  The government and other key stakeholders will need to provide an enabling regulatory and infrastructural environment in order to bring about significant flow of benefits of tuna resources to the country at biologically, ecologically and socio-economically sustainable levels,” noted Mr. Kimakwa

The strategy, which will run from 2013 to 2018, aims to grow Kenya’s largely underdeveloped tuna supply chain that currently has rudimentary fishing vessels not capable of going beyond 20 nautical miles undertaking tuna fishing.  In addition, the country does not have a commercial tuna fishing fleet and lacks even a single vessel capable of exploiting tuna resources prescribed to it by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which grants a state special rights over exploration and use of marine resources. Currently the country grants fishing access to Distant Water Fishing Nations at a fee, which is not commensurate to the real value of the resource.

The plan further outlines how Kenya will benefit from its currently under-exploited tuna resources by transitioning from traditional tuna fisheries to modern commercially oriented high sea fisheries. This is expected to increase benefits to the country hence spur economic development.

Kenya lies within the rich tuna belt of the West Indian Ocean where 25% of the world’s tuna caught. Marine fisheries potential in Kenya is currently estimated to be between 150,000 to 300,000 metric tonnes whereas our current fishery production from this is only about 9,000 metric tonnes per year.

Only one factory in the country with an installed processing capacity of 105 metric tonnes per day is dedicated to tuna processing. Kenya therefore, accounts for less than 5% of the Western Indian Ocean’s processing capacity with the only tuna company in the country relying on supplies from distant water fishing nations for tuna supply.

By John Kabubu, WWF Coastal East Africa Initiative Communications.

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