Management and Guidance
The Kenya Fisheries Service is a corporate body established under the Fisheries Management and Development Act No. 35 of 2016. The purpose of the Service is to Conserve, Manage and Develop Kenya Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources.
Our Functions
Ensure the appropriate conservation development of standards on management, sustainable use, development and protection of the fisheries resources;
Formulate and monitor the implementation of policies regarding the conservation, management and utilization of all fisheries resources;
Develop standards for the management of all fisheries and aquaculture activities and fishing related activities;
Develop guidelines for the preparation of fisheries specific management plans for the Kenya fishery waters;
![Sailfish]()
Sailfish
Fisherman’s License
PROCEDURE OF ISSUING - DOMESTIC CRAFT
- The applicant fill prescribed form through their beach management Units (BMU).
- The BMU evaluates the application and forwards it to the County Director of Fisheries
- County Director of Fisheries then forwards the application to Director General KeFS through regional offices for consideration
- If it is approved the applicant pays the required fee and is issued with a license
The whole process takes a maximum of 7days
Fisherman’s License
PROCEDURE OF ISSUING - FISHERMAN’S LICENSE
- The applicant fills prescribed form through their beach management Units(BMU).
- BMU evaluates the application and forwards it to County Director of Fisheries
- County Director of Fisheries then forwards the application to Director General (DG) through regional offices for consideration
- If it is approved the applicant pays the required fee and is issued with a license
The whole process takes a maximum of 7days
Fishing Handling
'Tag & Release' Guidelines The success of the ‘Tag & Release’ recording system for billfish, shark and many of the game fish, is contributed to the dedicated anglers and captains around the globe that voluntarily tag, release, and report their catches. The deployment of traditional tags and the data gathered from recaptured fish provides valuable scientific data to further understand growth rates, migratory patterns, habitat utilization, and postrelease survival rates.
Tag and release data also provides valuable information for stock assessments that are instrumental in a time when industrial longlines represent the largest source of marlin mortality. This valuable data, much of it impossible to measure without the use of traditional tagging, provides the groundwork for conservation minded policy, scientific advancement, and gives insight into the demographics and socioeconomic benefits generated from Big Game Sport fishing in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) 'Catch & Release' Guidelines HANDLE WITH CARE!
• Never fight a fish to exhaustion.
• Never gaff a fish you plan to release.
• Dehook the fish in the water whenever possible.
• Cut the line as close to the hook as possible if a swallowed hook can’t be easily removed.
• Keep air exposure to a minimum if you must remove a fish from the water. Less than 60 seconds is ideal. • Handle the fish as little as possible and only with wet hands.
• Avoid touching the fish’s eyes and gills.
• Support the weight of any fish removed from the water along the length of its body. Never suspend a fish by its lip or mouth.
• Resuscitate a sluggish fish by facing it into the current until it regains strength and can swim away on its own.
