Coast counties eye fishing boom after signing of EPAs deal

Coast county governments have welcomed the recent signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the East African Community (EAC), part of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

At a meeting between the EU and Coast county officials incharge of fisheries at Travellers Beach Hotel, Mombasa, Kilifi County executive incharge of agriculture, Mwalimu Menza said they are delighted at the prospects of a booming fishing industry due to the signing of the agreement.

“This is an opportunity for us because we will have a better and bigger market,” Menza said. He said for example, Kilifi County has huge potential to harness fishing.

EU Trade and Communication counsellor, Mr Christophe De Vroey said they are holding meetings with key stakeholders in the agricultural sector with a view to promote coordination between Kenya and the larger EU market. “Kenyan producers stand a better chance to benefit from the EPAs. The EU, with 28 member States forms the biggest market for exports. There is already 25 per cent of Kenya export going directly to EU markets,” Vroey said.

Mombasa County Executive incharge of agriculture, Anthony Njaramba and his counterpart from Kwale, Joan Nyamasyo said that the two counties combined have huge potential to develop fishing industries. They said already their respective counties have put in place strategies to revitalise fishing.

Nyamasyo said in Kwale, they are keen to partner with investors to set up a fish processing plant as well as come up with a dedicated fish port to handle fish catch. “Studies have shown that we have huge potential of tapping into the lucrative fishing sector and are already working with other government agencies to tap into seaweed farming with a view to upscaling its production into more viable commercial venture,’’ Nyamasyo said.

She announced that Kwale County is in the process of mapping out land along the seashore to identify all the beach landing sites where fishermen can land their catch after fishing expeditions.

“This is being done in close collaboration with the department of land to ensure that we have designated fish landing sites in place unlike the current scenario where many of them have been grabbed,” she said.

The county executive said that of the 40 known landing sites, there are only two major ones in Shimoni and Vanga.

“Vanga has a cold storage facility which has not been fully utilised despite the government having pumped in a lot of money for its construction,” she said.