By Reporter
Fishermen at Uyombo Beach Management Unit in Matsangoni area of Kilifi North Sub County, Kilifi County have benefitted with the construction and equipping of a cold storage facility from the European Union as part of the Italian component in the Go Blue Program.
While handing over the project, the EU head of governance in Nairobi Alexandre Baron who was accompanied by the Italian ambassador to Kenya Roberto Natali said that the fully fledged facility will go a long way in improving the livelihood of fishermen in the area.
The Go Blue program will benefit all the coastal counties under the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP).
The EU funded program is implemented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) with the technical support of the Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari).
The counties will benefit from infrastructure and equipment provided through the Go Blue program including the cassava plants, the cold chain infrastructure, fishing equipment, fishing boats and other equipment provided through the program.
During the event it was noted that EU and the Kenyan government has signed a trade agreement that will see Kenyan products exported to Europe and that fishermen will be trained and be able to engage in the fish export business once they are certified by the EU.
“We fully understand what you are saying, that the Chinese are the ones benefiting the most the skilling of the fishermen that we have done so far and it is something that we want to look at in terms of making the economic partnership between the EU and Kenya a reality and a major economic opportunity for both European and Kenyan private sector and entrepreneurs and this goes to the small-scale fisheries,” he said.
He challenged governors to invest more in the blue economy sector and sustain the work the EU had initiated.
Lamu Governors Issa Timamy and his Kilifi counterpart Gideon appealed to the national government and the EU to come up with training and vetting fishermen from Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu on trade product requirements and evaluation so that they could obtain EU certifications to export their products.
They claimed that local fishermen were getting a raw deal from their Chinese counterparts who fish in Kenyan waters and have internationally accepted certifications to export fish products.
Timamy said that the EU had done a wonderful job of equipping and training local fishermen but their investments were all going to benefit the Chinese who buy fish products at throwaway prices then export them to the European Union.
Natali said that Italy had a commitment to explore the blue economy area to ensure that there were the economic and environment change components.
“Italy is a country shaped as a peninsula with an 8,000-kilometer coast line and hence was very much committed to promoting coastal development,” he said.
At the same time, fishermen in Malindi town have urged the government to take possession and repair two large Chinese fishing vessels that have remained stuck at the Bunthwani beach for over three years.
The fishermen said that through the ministry of fisheries and blue economy, the government was in a good position to repair and hand over to them the two vessels to boost their fishing activities since they will be able to fish in deep waters.
According to the Chairman of the Shella Beach Management Unit (BMU) Yunus Abdud who represents more than 1,650 members, the Chinese nationals abandoned the fishing trawlers after realizing profits from their fishing expedition in Kenyan waters.
He said that the government should go for them for polluting the marine ecosystem.
