Challenges and Opportunities of Kenyan artisanal Fish Industry

Abstract

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of the artisanal (small scale, non-commercial) fish sector in Kenya which has a potential to significantly contribute to the country's economy through employment creation, income generation and source of nutrition. However several challenges were identified relating to the artisanal processors including lack of adequate sanitation, chilling, cold storage and distribution facilities hence they opt for traditional fish processing techniques such as sun drying and smoking. However, these challenges often lead to huge economic and quality post harvest losses due to color change, extraneous matter contamination, bacterial breakdown, mould and insect infestation, pilferage by birds and animals. This paper aims at discussing the challenges that the artisanal fish traders encounter and proposes various ways of improving the artisanal …