“Tuna is not for everyone,” lamented 65-year-old Chapoka Miongo, a handline fisher on Kenya’s south coast, from his dugout canoe.
He’s one of many artisanal fishers in Shimoni, a bustling coastal town 82 kilometers (51 miles) south of Mombasa, dotted with dhows, dugout boats, outrigger canoes and skiffs anchored on the beach landing site. Scores of fishmongers, processors and traders line the shoreline awaiting the fisherfolk to return.
“My canoe is only suitable for the near shore and only those with the big boats and money can access tuna,” he said. Miongo explained that warming waters due to climate change forced tuna species to alter their migration patterns, making it harder for local fishers to catch them. Fish stocks have also decreased due to a lack of sustainable fishing by larger vessels.
The Shimoni channel, previously a well-known haunt for tuna, benefits from the north and south easterly monsoons which can lead to substantial catches, according to records kept by the Kenya Fisheries Service.
But the current monsoon has been unkind to Miongo. He can barely fill his bucket: his modest catch of the day includes a motley batch of emperor fish.
Yellowfin tuna in particular, which fetches competitive prices at the market, can feel like a “lucky break” for fisherfolk, explained 60-year-old prawn fisher Mazera Mgala.
After a seemingly futile five-day hunt, scouting fish landing sites in Gazi Bay, the Shimoni channel and Vanga seafront for the yellowfin tuna, one weighing six and a half kilograms was finally caught by an outrigger canoe fisherman at the Shimoni channel.
Miongo and Mgala are among just over 1,500 fisherfolk who rely on the rich marine waters of the channel. In Miongo’s three decades of fishing, he says large foreign ships, more young men opting for artisanal fishing due to a lack of white-collar jobs and higher education opportunities, and a changing climate are depleting livelihoods.