MOMBASA — For decades, the Indian Ocean has been a crime scene of missed opportunity. While foreign trawlers from as far as Europe and Asia haul billions of shillings worth of tuna from Kenya’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), local fishermen in Mombasa have watched from the shore, their wooden canoes unable to breach the deep waters where the real wealth swims.

That narrative is facing its stiffest challenge yet. On Thursday, the Liwatoni Fisheries Complex—a project that has flirted with "white elephant" status for years—threw open its doors for a deep-sea fishing exhibition that officials claim marks the turning point for Kenya’s Blue Economy.

The exhibition is not just a display of nets and navigation gear; it is a statement of intent. With the first phase of the complex now operational, the government is signaling that it is finally ready to move from policy papers to production lines.

The Multi-Billion Shilling Gap

The stakes could not be higher. Kenya’s deep-sea waters have the potential to produce between 150,000 and 300,000 metric tonnes of fish annually. Yet, the country currently lands a paltry 24,000 tonnes, mostly from artisanal fishermen operating in overfished shallow waters.

"We are sitting on a gold mine while begging for copper," noted a senior fisheries official at the launch. The economic disparity is staggering. Analysts estimate that Kenya loses over $100 million (approx. KES 13 billion) annually to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by foreign vessels.

The Liwatoni facility aims to plug this leak. Designed to process 1,000 tonnes of fish daily once fully completed, it provides the critical infrastructure—cold storage, processing lines, and export logistics—that industrial fishing vessels require to dock and offload in Kenya, rather than taking their catch to Seychelles or Mauritius.

From Canoes to Trawlers

The exhibition highlighted the technological leap required for Kenyan fishermen to participate in this bonanza. The gap between a dugout canoe and an industrial longliner is not just size; it is capital.

• The Gear: Deep-sea fishing requires vessels capable of staying at sea for weeks, equipped with blast freezers to maintain catch quality.
• The Cost: A single fully equipped commercial fishing vessel can cost upwards of KES 60 million, a figure out of reach for most local Beach Management Units (BMUs).
• The Strategy: The government is banking on the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development (KEMFSED) project to bridge this gap through grants and training.

Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy, Hassan Joho, has previously emphasized that the goal is to have 12 to 15 Kenyan-flagged industrial vessels operating within the next three years. This exhibition serves as the recruitment ground for the private sector investors needed to fund that fleet.

Skepticism on the Shore

Despite the optimism inside the complex, the mood on the docks remains cautious. The Liwatoni project has a history of stalled construction and missed deadlines since its inception in 2018. For the fishermen of Old Town Mombasa, seeing is believing.

"We have heard these promises before," said Ahmed Dharwesh, a veteran fisherman. "They tell us about billions in tuna, but we still struggle to buy fuel for our boats. If Liwatoni is for the big ships, what happens to us?"

The government counters that the facility will create over 3,000 direct jobs in processing and logistics, offering a stable income that fluctuates less than the daily catch. Furthermore, by enforcing landing rights, foreign vessels licensed to fish in Kenyan waters will be compelled to process a portion of their catch locally, injecting cash directly into the Mombasa economy.

As the exhibition continues, the message is clear: Kenya is done being a spectator in its own ocean. The infrastructure is finally catching up to the ambition. Now, the hard work of catching the fish begins.