To make small-scale fisheries in Kenya more sustainable, fishers need to invest in responsible fishing operations and technologies, reduce overfishing, contribute to fisheries management, and implement climate change adaptation measures. Small-scale fishers often do not have access to financial services to innovate and to make the necessary transition to sustainable fishing operations. Access to financial services will help them to innovate and adopt measures that will provide social, economic and environmental returns, the desired triple bottom line. The African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) and FAO, in collaboration with the State Department for Fisheries, Aquaculture and the Blue Economy in Kenya, implemented a project to analyse and improve the access of small-scale fishers to financial services in Kenya. The project identified the key finance- and fisheries sector stakeholders, carried out surveys and interviews, and conducted a techno-economic performance analysis of some small-scale fishing fleets, to investigate the potential innovations for investment. A two-day stakeholder workshop was held in 2021, in which the participants agreed to constitute a CAFI-SSF Network Kenyan Chapter. AFRACA developed and tested training materials on lending to the fisheries sector for financial service providers. This circular provides a summary of the project achievements.

Overexploitation of natural resources is often associated with poverty among local populations. A multi-disciplinary team studied artisanal fishers along the Kenyan coast on the Indian Ocean. The main focus of the research was on income diversification of fishers, the pressure on marine resources and the relation between the two. Income diversification did not reduce the pressure on the marine environment. Rather, indications are that many part-time fishers are entering the profession. Moreover, fishers with alternative employment stayed in-shore and used damaging gear more often. Policies to stimulate employment opportunities for coastal communities cannot be expected to lessen the pressure on marine resources and need to be planned carefully in terms of industry location, labour requirements and degree of coastal pollution.

"Illusions of Location Theory: Consequences for Blue Economy in Africa" questions the relevance of ‘location theory’ in explaining the coastal-hinterland continuum and the implications for the utilization of blue economy ecosystem in such a contested space in Africa. It pays more attention to territorial contestations, maritime disputes, vulnerabilities of landlocked states, and expansionist policies as displayed through spatial organizational regimes. These areas of investigation have previously been largely studied from the narrow perspective of ‘location’, unduly focusing on comparative advantages of ‘distance’, while neglecting the influence of ‘forces’ such as technology, ideology, and the power of mental mapping in spatial decision making. This volume puts forward the argument that the harmonious relationship between states, and efficient exploitation of the blue economy ecosystem in ways that promote peace between states, lies not only in the structural transformation of markets, but also in bridging the spatial and social divide between the coastal and hinterland societies. Thus, this work proffers possibilities for a holistic regime for managing Africa’s coastal-hinterland continuum through innovative strategies such as SMART blue economies and the infusion of the geopolitical dimension into the management of maritime and territorial diplomacy. The combination of theoretical and empirical analysis, buttressed by in-depth case studies of what works in the management of blue economy ecosystem and what does not work, make this volume ideal for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in African regional studies, African political economy, political geography, strategic military studies, governance of seas and oceans, and maritime science/diplomacy.