Faki Juma and Mwanahamisi Kisukari are among the most experienced anchovy processors from Mkokotoni, with decades of experience between them. Each day, they brave the hot sun to sieve dry anchovies, known locally as dagaa, working alongside others to remove shells and stones.

A key step in their value-addition process includes sorting dried anchovies. As they rhythmically pour bucket loads of anchovies through sieves, ensuring only the best-quality catch makes it through, Faki explains how much they earn.

While a kilo of fried dagaa can fetch US$5 or more in the market, fishers here earn only an equivalent of US$2.5 per kilo due to limited value-addition efforts beyond parboiling, drying, and sieving before packaging in large sacks,” said Faki.

Meanwhile, dealers buy the dried dagaa in bulk at low prices, reaping the profits as they further process and package it for sale in supermarkets and fish shops. Mwanahamisi also shares similar views.

“We feel exploited when selling our dagaa to dealers because we know we can earn more. So I am keen to see everyone, especially women, earn better.” said Mwanahamisi.

In addition, the dagaa processors lack weighing machines, relying instead on buckets that provide only rough estimates of the catch, often leading to unfair pricing. Faki and his fellow fish processors are looking to adopt modern technology, such as modern boilers and fryers, to add value to their fish, enabling them to earn more. 

Ninety kilometres north of Zanzibar, the deep connections between these coastal waters become even more apparent in Tanga. Fish know no boundaries, and fishers rely on similar techniques across the region and face many of the same challenges. 

Here, fishers from the Muheza district have yet to benefit from their fisheries fully, so they turned to their peers for solutions, as Kengela Mashimba, a Mwambao programme officer, explains;

“Following a peer learning visit to the Kilwa beach management unit (BMU) network in southern Tanzania, the community saw the benefit of (implementing) an octopus fishery closure, which is now in place.”

The new closure is within the Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park, where the Marine Parks Reserve Unit spent years focusing on enforcement (parks are designated no-take and no-fishing zones). However, positive collaborative efforts between the community and the park authorities have led to its recent reopening. 

During the reopening, male gleaners opted to skin dive in search of octopus in the reserve's slightly deeper waters, while women gleaned on foot. The patrol team scouted the closure, ensuring everyone abided by the community-managed fishery regulations. The three-hour reopening session, which included a data collection exercise, yielded 405 kilos, an encouraging result for all involved.

Despite the impressive yield, the opening highlighted key lessons on fair access between male and female gleaners. In response, BMU members have committed to fostering fairness, the importance of which one woman gleaner explains, 

“The octopus fishery closure is a great step in helping us to get better catch and earn more during opening. However, we need fairness during the opening since men can access deeper waters through swimming while women don’t.”

However, challenges persist. Waste disposal on beaches, illegal fishing, and widespread mangrove deforestation threaten livelihoods and marine ecosystems. Some in the community believe mangroves provide superior wood for construction, unaware of how their loss harms local fisheries. A few, however, are leading efforts to protect their ocean and advocate for sustainable fishing practices, as Rajabu Mndima, the BMU chair, explains;

Along Kenya and Tanzania’s coastlines, communities are proving that, with the right support, they can shape the future of their fisheries while safeguarding the ocean that sustains them. The transformations taking place are a testament to the power of local leadership in securing livelihoods and marine ecosystems for generations to come.

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This initiative is funded by The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).