Matondoni Island in the Lamu archipelago is famous for prawn fishing. But the fishers used to make losses due to preserve their catch and poor transportation to markets. Now that’s all in the past after they acquired a new boat and coolers with a KEMFSED community grant.
Deep in the Lamu archipelago is Matondoni Island, which is renowned for prawn fishing and the expertise of its basket weavers. The ocean around the island has always teemed with prawns and the local community has made good money from fishing.
However, this important source of livelihood for thousands of people is now under threat. Overfishing in the near-shore and lack of proper fishing gear have caused a decline in incomes.
“Fishing is no longer productive; the prawns are fewer and smaller,” says Athman Osman, a member of the Matondoni Prawn Fishers Group.
Fishers have to travel further across the ocean to find prawns, especially the highly valued jumbo type.
“We usually spend about four days on each trip,” says Osman. “Previously, we would travel almost the whole day and spend another day or two fishing and drying the prawns on the island before returning.”
For Osman and his crew, the voyage to prawn-rich fishing grounds in a small old dhow was a risky venture. Sometimes the boat would leak, forcing the four people to spend hours bailing the vessel to stay afloat. This delays their journey to the distant islands and back.
However, things are looking up for them after they received a Sh1.6 million grant from the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic (KEMFSED) project at the end of 2023. They topped up this amount with their own contribution of Sh276,000 to buy a fiberglass boat, engine, and fishing equipment including nets, floaters, and safety equipment. They also bought coolers to keep the prawns fresh.
The investment has begun to pay off. “The boat is faster and safer … we now only take four hours to reach the fishing grounds,” says Osman.
Before acquiring the boat, Matondoni fishers would often arrive at the main market in Lamu late. This coupled with the lack of equipment to preserve their catch meant they could not get good prices due to the poor condition of their catch and the fact that major traders would have left by the time they arrived.
“A lot of our prawns used to go bad, but we now get to the market in time and sell all our catch,” says Masoud Said.
The fishers are earning more. In the first six months after getting the grant, the group earned over Sh310,000 from the sale of prawns.
“We make a good profit that we put into our savings account with the aim of accumulating Sh500,000, which will be distributed to members to boost their small businesses and meet other needs,” says Fatima Said, the group’s record keeper.
“We depend on this boat to get money to educate our children and meet other needs,” says Osman.
He and the other fishers have also acquired critical skills to ensure their safety and the success of their fishing venture.
Osman was sponsored by KEMFSED to attend coxswain training. I don’t think I could ever have afforded to pay for such a useful course … I learned a lot, including how to avoid collisions at night and deal with hazards such as a fire at sea and rescue techniques.”
Other members have been trained in basic procurement, bookkeeping, and group management. Matondoni Fishers Group is one of over 60 groups that received KEMFSED grants in Phases 1 and 3. The grants are designed to improve fisheries and complement the livelihoods of coastal communities.
