Fisheries Management Institutions and Policy Mechanisms that Mitigate Fisheries Conflicts in Homa Bay County, Kenya

Abstract

Fisheries conflicts are among the persistent problems affecting the security of food, livelihoods and fishing environments crucial to poor fishing communities in developing countries. In Kenya, the same has been a major problem and it has taken government's efforts to curb. One of the strategies introduced more so in Homa Bay County is the Co-Management Strategy in which all stakeholders are involved. Although this co-management strategy has been suggested as a solution to the problem of fisheries use, conflicts still persist. The study examined the effectiveness of co-management strategy mitigates fisheries conflicts in Homa Bay County. It was to establish if Fisheries Management Institutions (FMIs) policy mechanisms mitigate fisheries conflicts in Homa Bay County. The common property theory was used in the study. This study was guided by a conceptual framework of common property. The framework was based on the driver-problem-issue- intervention analysis that put into context the dynamics of variables that addressed the objectives of the study. The research design used was descriptive in nature. The population of the study was 18, 300 registered members of BMUs. Multi stage sampling was used to identify two beaches in each of the five divisions namely: Mfangano, Mbita, Lambwe, Central and Gwassi. The study established that there were about 100 registered members in each BMU. 40% of BMUs from each of the five divisions were sampled, resulting to 39 BMUs. From each BMU sampled, 10 registered members were randomly sampled. The sample size was therefore, 390. Data was collected using structured questionnaires, interview schedules, observation and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). In terms of analysis descriptive statistics was generated to build a picture of the respondents' characteristics, this was done using SPSS. Inferential Statistics used the regression models and ANOVA. For each objective, the decision to reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis was based on the significance of coefficients (p < 0.05) of the related variables in the fitted regression. The study found out that FMIs policy mechanisms had a positive influence on fisheries conflict. In objective two, the study however, found that there is no relationship between community perception and performance of the FMIs as failed to reject the null hypothesis. The study also found that socio-economic challenges were an impediment in the mitigation of fisheries conflict. The findings of this study support and add knowledge to previous studies on fisheries conflicts. The study therefore, will contribute to the field of conflict management within the broader context of co-management strategy in the fisheries sector, thus leading to harmonious coexistence at the beaches, sustainable utilization of fisheries resources and improved livelihood of the people. The research suggests further studies targeting cultural issues that may be causing fisheries conflicts and cross border fishing that is causing fisheries conflicts.