In early 1979, an FAO/UNDP project (KEN/77/014) to develop coastal aquaculture in Kenya was initiated. The follow-up project designated as FAO/UNDP project KEN/80/018, was aimed at introducing and testing coastal aquaculture techniques for raising shrimps and fish having high local demand and/or export value as a means of increasing local food production, generating foreign exchange and providing livelihood and employment opportunities through the use of idle marine swamp lands.
Biological surveys, focusing on fry abundance and seasonality in various localities were carried out, and initially rabbitfish and mullet were considered as possible candidate species in addition to Penaeus indicus. When the pilot farm at the present site in Ngomeni was started up sometime in 1982, however, the project concentrated its efforts on shrimp monoculture specifically Penaeus indicus, using an extensive system relying on wild supplies of fry for seed material, natural productivity for food, and tidal exchange for water management.
The project has since then carried out several production runs with results which have generally been considered encouraging. With such development, it was deemed appropriate at this stage, by the Government of Kenya through the Fisheries Department, to prepare a master plan for aquaculture development, specifically shrimp farming, in the entire coastal area. As a prerequisite for the preparation of such a master plan it is essential to have an inventory of areas with potentials for aquaculture development, hence this survey mission.
The terms of reference of the mission have been specified as follows:
Identify coastal areas where the existing technology employed on project KEN/80/018 at Ngomeni (P. indicus, labour-intensive pond construction, simple tidal water exchange), could be expanded for production development.
Identify coastal areas where relatively large-scale commercial shrimp farming (P. monodon/P. indicus, mechanized pond construction, seawater pumping, hatchery for post-larvae) might be possible or suitable.
The mission covered the period from 12 February to 10 April 1986. The consultants were based at Malindi which served as the staging area for visits to various places along the Kenya coastline. A detailed itinerary is presented in Appendix I.
During the two-month mission we met and were greatly assisted by people from the Government of Kenya, particularly the Fisheries Department as well as from the UNDP and FAO. A full list of these people who in one way or another enabled us to perform our task is presented in Appendix II.
