The Malindi Marine Association (MaMa) began its existence in 1999 in a donated office space, with borrowed furniture and a budget which extended only as far as two volunteers could contribute from their personal bank accounts. However, thanks in part to funds from Greengrants, MaMa has been able to make a real difference in preserving the ecosystem and native fishing economy of Kenyaís Malindi seacoast. MaMa unites community-based environmental organizations and the local fishing community against the harmful effects of commercial trawlers.
Devastating Fishing Practices
Local fishermen on the Malindi coast have been practicing environmentally sustainable fishing methods for over 1,000 years. They have supported themselves and their communities with fishing methods such as hand-lines, traps, and gillnets. Although these fishermen have never become rich, they made a living and were also willing to sacrifice some of their fishing grounds for the formation of the Malindi Marine Park.
This relationship between fishermen and the coastal environment has been shattered by the arrival of commercial fishing. Foreign companies, abetted by some local fishermen and corrupt government officials, have circumvented Kenyan and international laws that ban the destructive practice of commercial trawler fishing within 5 miles of the Kenyan coast, and have even fished within the Marine Park.
The trawlers are fishing for shrimp, but as much as 70% of their catch is fish and other marine life, sometimes even endangered sea turtles. Since refrigerated space on a trawler is limited, the already dead by-catch is usually dumped back in the ocean. Not only is this environmentally devastating, many of these dead fish are washed up on the beaches of the Malindi Coast, therefore damaging tourism. Ring-nets, which are operated by one or two trawlers, are even more injurious to local marine life, as they are often used to encircle and exterminate an entire shoal of fish at one time.
Now, with the prawn population badly depleted by commercial fishing, many of the local Kenyan fishermen have lost their way of life and are now living in poverty.
Malindi Marine Association
The Malindi Marine Association was created to unite local fishermen and community organizations involved in the fishing sector against government corruption and commercial fishing. As most of its members are of very modest means, MaMa has needed to look beyond its membership for funding. MaMa’s first external assistance, $2,000 from Greengrants, went to purchase the most basic things needed for running an organizational association, including office furniture, a computer, telephone lines, and basic office running expenses. To be able to visit local communities and beaches, MaMa also used Greengrants funds to get a small motorcycle, which has improved office travel and representation within a 30 kilometer radius. As a consequence, MaMa was able to expand both its membership and funding bases.
Before the creation of MaMa, community-based organizations in this area lacked central coordination and a forum through which to address their problems. As separate entities, the different groups didn’t have enough influence to get the government to consider their requests. Through MaMa, these communities and organizations are now able to pool their resources and use their collective influence to arrange meetings with important government officials.
As a result, the struggle against commercial fishing on the Malindi coast has changed dramatically. In one case, the group successfully lobbied for the removal of a corrupt leader in the local fishing co-operative society. MaMa has organized meetings between the Malindi Marine Park and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), resulting in improved working relationships between the two groups. In a meeting with the Assistant Director of the KWS, MaMa presented a memorandum on issues in marine conservation and responsibility towards marine conservation. MaMa has organized other popular meetings, which foster community goodwill and put pressure on officials from the Fisheries Department, KWS, and the rest of the Kenyan government to enforce the laws for which they are responsible.
Another MaMa program works to educate fishermen on protecting their rights and managing their own local fishing groups. Still another works with tourist operators on protecting the beauty of the beaches from the blight of dead fish. MaMa regularly sends volunteers to clean the beaches in the Malindi Marine Park, and supports other groups in cleaning up beaches outside the park. With the help of MaMa, the local fishing community has revised fishing guidelines, which aim for the sustainable utilization of natural resources.
One of MaMa’s greatest successes has been successfully lobbying for an official ban on ring net fishing in the Malindi area, although enforcement of the ban remains an enormous problem. And MaMa’s successes have not been without cost: some of the local fishermen who have allegedly teamed up with the trawler boats and are not in favor of what MaMa is trying to do. According to one report, MaMa Director Athman Seif recently had his own fishing boat set on fire.
In any case, the struggle will continue, and the stakes are nothing less than the survival of both Kenya’s marine ecosystem and the way of life of its local fishermen.