East African states close ranks against illegal fishing in Indian ocean
National
By
Juliet Omelo
| Feb 10, 2026
East African governments are hardening their position against illegal fishing in the South West Indian Ocean, warning that foreign industrial fleets are exploiting weak enforcement and fragmented laws to plunder marine resources and undermine coastal economies.
Speaking during the Blue Voices Regional Summit in Zanzibar, government officials, fisheries authorities and legal experts from Tanzania and Kenya agreed that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) has escalated beyond an environmental concern into a threat to national sovereignty, food security and economic stability.
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute Director General Paul Orina said isolated national efforts were no match for highly mobile industrial fleets.
“Illegal actors succeed when countries act alone and fail when regions act together,” Dr Orina said, calling for deeper regional cooperation.
Legal experts at the summit highlighted loopholes created by uneven enforcement regimes.
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Leonard Bett, Deputy Chief State Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General, warned that inconsistent penalties across countries effectively invite criminal behavior.
“When penalties are low in one jurisdiction, crime migrates there,” he said.
The meeting was convened under the Jahazi Project and brought together senior decision-makers responsible for maritime governance and fisheries management.
“Illegal fishing is not just an environmental issue; it is about food security, livelihoods, sovereignty, and development,” said Zanzibar’s Deputy Minister for Blue Economy and Fisheries, Mboja Ramadhani Mshenga.
While they acknowledged the value of lawful international trade and partnerships, delegates raised alarm over the activities of distant-water industrial fleets operating far offshore, where monitoring capacity is limited.
It was noted that vessels linked to Southern and Eastern Asian fishing interests, including companies associated with China, were part of a broader pattern of concern.
Mshenga stressed that the issue was not nationality but compliance, transparency and accountability, noting that opaque ownership structures and vast industrial capacity make enforcement difficult.
According to officials, foreign fleets often operate at scales that overwhelm local surveillance systems, while differences in national laws across coastal states allow operators to shift activities to jurisdictions with weaker penalties.
“We must ensure that those who exploit our waters find no haven anywhere in our region,” Mshenga said.
Delegates described IUUF as economic theft from coastal communities.
In both Tanzania and Kenya, millions of people depend directly or indirectly on marine resources for food and income, making declining fish stocks a direct social and economic risk.
Officials warned that unchecked illegal fishing could erode livelihoods, strain public finances and fuel wider insecurity along the coast.
The summit concluded that national enforcement, on its own, cannot address the scale and sophistication of offshore illegal fishing.
The delegates committed to strengthening legal coordination, aligning prosecution frameworks and improving real-time information sharing among fisheries, maritime and security agencies.
“Securing our seas together is not a slogan; it is an economic necessity,” said Captain Hamad Bakari Hamad, Principal Secretary in Zanzibar’s Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries.
The commitments made in Aanzi8bar point to a new phase of collective resolve among South West Indian Ocean states, as governments move to translate shared concerns into coordinated enforcement.
By tightening legal frameworks, sharing intelligence and acting in unison, regional leaders say they aim to deny illegal operators the loopholes they have long exploited and protect marine resources that sustain millions of livelihoods across the coast.