Cosmas Munga

• PhD in Marine Sciences
• Lecturer at Technical University of Mombasa

Worldwide, fish feed is known to be costly in aquaculture production majorly contributed by the cost of fish meal which is widely used as a protein ingredient in fish diet causing a great problem for the development and growth of the aquaculture sector. Therefore, seeking other sources that will be satisfactory, such as alternative protein for fish...

Mangrove forest ecosystems provide essential services to tropical coastal communities, includ- ing as a source of food, fuel and building materials. During the Covid-19 pandemic human movements were restricted at all levels, including locally in coastal communities. The impact of these measures on marine ecosystems such as mangroves were not well u...

In the development of Kenya Vision 2030 Third Medium Term Plan (MTP III) 2018-2022, the Blue Economy (BE) sector was recognised as one of the emerging economic fronts that are expected to significantly contribute to Kenya's economic growth. Subsequently, there were calls to develop and manage a BE database. Despite these calls, there is currently n...

Mangroves are critical ecosystems that support the riparian coastal communities and marine aquatic life. They provide habitat and breeding areas for fisheries. In addition, they are known to be the primary sources of protein and food among the coastal community. These ecological services of mangroves are at risk of getting diminished through sustai...

Marine fish is a rich source of minerals in the diet of humans, but seasonal variation in fish mineral concentrations is relatively unstudied. We investigated seasonal mineral concentrations among four marine fish species retained by small scale fishers in Msambweni and Vanga fishing villages in Kenya. The fish species were Siganus sutor (rabbitfis...

The artisanal fishery is one of the sources of livelihood along the Kenya coast. Catches of retained fish of artisanal fishers between two fishing areas on the south coast of Kenya were compared. Artisanal fishers usually retain a portion of their daily catch which is reserved for family consumption while the rest is traded for cash to meet other f...

The advent of resistant pathogenic bacteria and fungi across the globe is threatening the efficacy of antibiotic drugs. Thus, microbial infections are becoming a threat to life. Endophytic fungi remain a viable source of secondary metabolites with unique spectra of biological activities. This study isolated and characterized endophytic fungi from s...

In order to achieve collaborative action in nature conservation and natural resources management, stakeholders have to understand and acknowledge other stakeholders’ interests, values, world visions and objectives and they have to overcome the problem of irrational decision-making through innate opposition discourses. In this paper we developed the...

Meiobenthos respond to variability in salinity gradients in estuarine habitats and are thus suitable organisms for ecological studies. The vertical and horizontal distribution of the meiofauna community structure of two major estuaries (Sabaki and Tana) on the north coast of Kenya were compared. The aim was to draw a meiofaunal dataset inventory of...

Household survey data and spatially explicit Sentinel-2 satellite images of land cover and land use during the dry and wet seasons were used to investigate livelihood strategies in the Lower Tana River Delta in Kenya, where food security and economic activity rely almost exclusively on ecosystem goods and services. Land cover classification of sate...

Estuarine socio-ecological systems (SES) in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region face mounting pressures from overexploitation, habitat degradation, impacts of climate change and governance inadequacies. A regional assessment of seasonal-to-decadal change in SES of three estuaries (Bons Sinais in Mozambique, Ruvu in Tanzania and Tana in Kenya) was...

Estuaries provide unique ecosystem goods and services and have been focal points for human settlement andresource use throughout recorded history. In the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region, the effects of human population growth, rapid economic development and climate change on estuaries threaten their ecological functioning and the sustainability o...

The role of small-scale fisheries in maintaining socio-ecological systems (SES) in the Western Indian Ocean is well-documented, yet few studies have addressed estuarine fisheries in the region. Small-scale fisheries in the Tana Estuary in Kenya are described in this paper, accounting for location along a salinity gradient, seasonality, gear types u...

Endophytes are bacteria or fungi living asymptomatically in the internal tissues of plants. They are symbiotic in nature and can be exploited for novel bioactive metabolites with applications in agriculture, medicine and industry. Mangrove fungal endophytes from the marine environment are abundant and have been recognized as sources of bioactive na...

Assessments of coastal artisanal fisheries are progressively adopting a social-ecological system (SES) approach as an effective means to accumulate knowledge and integrate findings on different aspects of the fisheries. Ostrom’s SES framework was used to guide assessment of interactions between and within the harvesting and supply-chain processes a...

Shore-based assessment of fisheries resources in Ngomeni, Kipini and Ozi fishing areas of Malindi-Ungwana Bay and the Lower Tana Delta on the north coast of Kenya was conducted from January to December 2017 to establish catch composition, species richness, and fishing effort (catch-rate, number and types of fishing gears and crafts) in the marine,...

Natural resource management frameworks are important in generating information that promotes the development of appropriate policies and regulation for effective management and utilization of different aspects of ecosystems. The Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact and Response (DPSIR) framework is one of such frameworks which has been widely applied glob...

Small-scale coastal fishing communities in the tropics have varied responses to climate variability constraints. These responses are often part of the different ways in which communities build adaptive capacity and resilience against internal and external stresses in their bid to reduce the impacts of prevailing and projected weather conditions. It...

This study presents a participatory assessment of overfished small-scale fisheries from selected landing sites in coastal Kenya using mixed quantitative and qualitative research methods. A seven-criteria ranking using a modified Delphi questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was used. Through a process of scoring the fisheries on these crite- ria...

An effort to contribute information on the response of benthic communities to bottom trawling disturbance at the SW Portuguese margin, Off Sines was made by conducting two ROV dives: dive 1 (trawled) and dive 2 (non/low-trawled) and through sampling at two stations: Trawled (st 7) and non/low-trawled (st 6) both occurring at depth ranges (290-356m)...

Tropical coastal systems are undergoing rapid change, which impacts people and natural resources, and that requires innovative governance processes to be turned into an opportunity for sustainable management. Focusing on Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago in Tanzania, this study explores the current state of the island's coastal sy...

Globally sea turtles are threatened including in Kenya where they are legally protected. Results of sea turtle protection in Kenya are presented in this paper in reference to the WWF Lamu seascape conservation efforts. Temporal and spatial trends in sea turtle nest protection, predation and strandings based on beach monitoring efforts in five locat...

The structure of benthopelagic fish assemblages of the continental shelves and upper slopes along coastal East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) was studied based on data from bottom trawls during 2012. These surveys are the most recent since the historical bottom trawls conducted in the 70s and 80s along costal East Africa. The bottom trawls sampled fis...

For over 30 decades, the Sabaki and Tana estuaries of the Malindi-Ungwana Bay, Kenya have supported both the artisanal fishery and semi-industrial bottom trawl sectors. Currently these estuaries in the bay support over 3 000 artisanal fishers and a maximum acceptable fleet of four medium-sized trawlers. These sectors have exerted pressure on the fi...

The economy of the Kenya coast is highly dependent on natural resources with both the rural and urban populations predominantly engaged in agriculture, tourism, fisheries and mining sectors. The natural resources related to the coastal and marine environments comprise highly productive and biologically diverse ecosystems, which, for a long time, ha...

The Malindi-Ungwana bay (latitudes 3o30′S and 2o30′S and longitudes 40o00′N and 41o 00′N) is an important fishing ground in Kenya, exploited by both commercial shallow water prawn trawlers and well as artisanal fishers. The prawn trawl fishery within the bay has been affected by conflicts due resources use concerns. To address some of the concerns,...

We assessed the richness, diversity and community structure of demersal fish and benthic invertebrates caught by trawl nets along the deep shelf and upper continental slope of the Southwest (SW) Indian Ocean. Four depth-stratified surveys were undertaken in 2011-2012, in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and southwestern Madagascar. The effects of region...

Fish resources in Kenya have been exploited for centuries, mostly by artisanal fishers in inshore lagoons, on reefs and, occasionally, in deeper waters. Fish in Kenya, as in many other tropical coastal countries, constitute an important source of food and livelihood. Artisanal fisheries thus play a key role in food security and employment, and are...

As part of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP), four bottom trawl surveys were undertaken at depths of 170-655 m in Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya in 2011-2012, to investigate the fishery potential of offshore grounds. The surveys relied on wet-leased commercial fishing vessels accompanied by scientists from the regio...

The abundance, trophic composition and diversity of fish were investigated in the Mombasa Marine Protected Area (MPA) on the Kenya coast over a period of four years (2004-2007) sixteen years after its establishment to determine its effectiveness. Fish monitoring data collected using belt transects revealed significant differences in fish abundance,...

Decapod crustaceans support both artisanal and semi-industrial fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region. Despite their commercial value, data on their community structure is lacking in most of the region but are important for stock management. This study provides information on seasonal and bathymetric variation in decapod crustacean comm...

Artisanal and shrimp bottom trawl fisheries in Ungwana Bay compete for fish resources and this has resulted in unresolved conflict over several decades. Landings of artisanal fishers (2009-2011) and bottom trawl catches (2011) were sampled to compare fish species composition and abundance according to area (inshore; offshore) and season (northeast...

Fish resources in Kenya have been exploited for centuries, mostly by artisanal fishers in inshore lagoons, on reefs and, occasionally, in deeper waters. Fish in Kenya, as in many other tropical coastal countries, constitute an important source of food and livelihood. Artisanal fisheries thus play a key role in food security and employment, and are...

The species composition, distribution patterns and abundance of penaeid shrimps in Malindi-Ungwana Bay, Kenya, were investigated after six years of no bottom trawling in the area. Two surveys undertaken during the dry Northeast Monsoon (NEM) and wet Southeast Monsoon (SEM) seasons in 2011 identified areas with abundant shrimps near the outflows of...

This study explores and describes the status of the fisheries resources in the Malindi-Ungwana Bay, Kenya. In addition to shrimp bottom trawling, the bay also supports a variety of artisanal fishing techniques with associated resource-use conflict experienced for quite some time until a ban on bottom trawling was imposed. This study therefore, focu...

The Malindi–Ungwana Bay fishery Kenya is one of the most important marine fisheries of the Western Indian Ocean. There are two fishing grounds: Formosa and Malindi, with a designated 5-nM no-trawl zone offshore. However, the fishery was faced with numerous resource use conflicts and a decline in catches, culminating in a trawl ban in 2006. This stu...

Length-weight relationships for nine species of deep sea fishes were analyzed, totalizing 1012 individuals. Most regression coefficients calculated were indicative of positive allometric growths. The condition factor values higher than 1 suggests that the specimens were healthy. Resumen. Relación Longitud-Peso de nueve especies de peces de profundi...

The Mombasa Marine Park and Reserve (MMP&R) in Kenya continues to attract increasing direct and indirect resource use due to its location near an urban area. Opinions on the continued existence of this Marine Protected Area (MPA) by fishermen, boat operators, kiosk operators, curio vendors and tourists varied in this study according to occupation,...

The current study was carried out over a period of one year to characterise the coastal migrant fishery of Kenya. The study looked at gears and vessels used, and ownership, demographic factors including ages of the fishers and family sizes, migrant activity and resource conservation at two main fishing villages in Kenya; Vanga and Mayungu in the so...

This report provides an overview of Kenya’s coastal artisanal fisheries based on catch assessment surveys conducted by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute in selected landing sites in Vanga, Shimoni, Msambweni, Gazi, Diani and Lamu from 2001 to 2008. Fish landings were monitored at the landing beaches for seasonal and annual variation...