Title: Balancing the scales: profit, power and sustainability in Kenya’s fish maw trade

Abstract

Nelly Ondabu's final project will be published in due time. Until then we share the abstract and a link to a poster.

Trade in Nile perch swim bladder (fish maw), a highly valued by-product, is growing rapidly in Kenya, but this growth brings unforeseen challenges. The core issue lies in how profits are shared, or rather, not shared fairly. This fundamental unfairness is responsible for emerging challenges, including resource waste through fish discards, smuggling, and changes in traditional supply chain dynamics. Consequently, economic gains across the value chain and in the Nile perch industry are not fully realised. This study investigates the drivers of inequitable profit sharing in the fish maw value chain, its socio-economic impacts, and proposes strategies for equitable and sustainable management. Focusing on Kenya’s portion of Lake Victoria, specifically Homabay County, which is home to the majority of landing sites and the highest fish landings in the region, the study employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 30 purposively selected value chain actors across four key landing sites. Proportional stratified sampling and thematic analysis were used to uncover patterns and perceptions of market access, profit distribution, and policy gaps. The findings reveal that limited access to market information among primary actors, such as fishermen and boat owners, fosters exploitative power dynamics and unfair profit-sharing. Size-based pricing incentivises the targeting of large, reproductively critical fish, thereby threatening long-term resource sustainability. The rise of stand-alone maw processing facilities has disrupted traditional supply chains, caused raw material shortages in conventional processing, and enabled the offshoring of profits through short, unregulated value chains. To address these challenges, this study recommends stakeholder sensitisation, transparent pricing systems, sector-specific regulation of fish maw trade, differential taxation based on product value, and policies requiring full fish processing prior to maw extraction. These interventions aim to promote fairness, maximise domestic economic gains, and ensure the sustainability of one of Kenya’s most valuable fisheries.