Govt Seeks Public Input on Draft Prawn and Octopus Fishery Management Plans

The State Department for the Blue Economy and Fisheries, through the Kenya Fisheries Service (KeFS), has invited members of the public and stakeholders to submit views on the proposed Draft Prawn Fishery Management Plan and the Draft Octopus Fishery Management Plan.

In a notice, the Department said the draft plans have been developed pursuant to Section 39 of the Fisheries Management and Development Act, Cap 378.

The proposed Prawn Fishery Management Plan aims to maintain prawn stocks at sustainable levels, minimise the fishery’s impact on the ecosystem, maximise socio-economic benefits, improve governance of the fishery, and mitigate the effects of climate change while promoting ecosystem and community resilience.

Similarly, the Draft Octopus Fishery Management Plan seeks to ensure sustainable octopus stocks, reduce ecological impacts, enhance socio-economic benefits across the value chain, strengthen governance, and support climate change mitigation and resilience efforts.

According to the Department, the two management plans are intended to establish a coherent, enforceable and evidence-based framework for the protection and sustainable development of prawn and octopus fisheries within Kenya’s marine ecosystems.

The plans are also designed to strengthen regulatory implementation, operational practices, institutional capacity and overall sectoral sustainability in a practical and measurable manner.

“The plans will be useful to policy makers, fishers, fish inspectors, researchers, transporters, processors, consumers, development partners in the prawn and octopus marine fisheries and other stakeholders along the value chains of octopus and prawn fisheries,” the notice reads.

The development of the plans was spearheaded by the State Department for the Blue Economy and Fisheries in collaboration with KeFS, the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), coastal county governments and the Council of Governors, with technical and financial support from the Kenya Marine Fisheries Socio-Economic Development Project (KEMFSED) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

The Department has invited all stakeholders, including government and private sector actors, development partners and members of the public, to submit their views on the draft plans.

The documents can be accessed and downloaded from Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs and Kenya Fisheries Service.

Comments should be addressed to the Principal Secretary, State Department for the Blue Economy and Fisheries, and submitted via email to ps@blueeconomy.go.ke, copied to fibes@blueeconomy.go.ke and info@kefs.go.ke.

All submissions must be received not later than 5:00 p.m. on June 15, 2026.