Fisheries Management and Development Act

This Act may be cited as the Fisheries Management and Development Act.

Section 2 is titled "Interpretation" and includes the word "barter".

Kenya has full jurisdiction and sovereign rights over fisheries resources (including in maritime zones and public waters), the sovereign management and control rights are vested in Kenya, and ownership of information reported under the Act is vested in the Government.

Applies to all Kenya fishery waters and areas over which Kenya exercises jurisdiction or sovereign rights.

The objective of this Act is to protect, manage, use and develop aquatic resources sustainably, uplift fishing communities, introduce fishing to non-fishing communities, and enhance food security.

Section establishes the Kenya Fisheries Council, lists its membership, and sets rules for appointment of the Chairperson, election of the vice Chairperson, composition balance requirements, alternates, powers to form committees, and provision of secretariat services.

Section 10 sets out the Board of Directors' functions, powers and duties, including oversight, advising the Cabinet Secretary, approving budgets, endorsing reports, establishing selection and employment processes, collaboration with agencies, policy guidance, and other Cabinet Secretary-prescribed functions; it also requires board members to act in good faith, comply with the Act and rely on official information.

Section 11 sets Board membership and appointment rules: the President appoints the Chairperson from among Cabinet Secretary–appointed members; the Cabinet Secretary appoints five expert members; the Director-General is secretary; members must elect a deputy of opposite gender; appointments must have regard to gender parity, age, regional and ethnic balance; non‑ex officio members serve three‑year terms and may be reappointed once.

Section 12 lists grounds for termination of a Board member (including resignation, absences, bankruptcy, convictions, infirmity, prejudicial conduct, failure to disclose), describes filling vacancies (ex officio replaced by Cabinet Secretary's nominee; others filled as per term-expiration vacancies), and states Board actions remain valid despite vacancies.

Board members must declare and immediately disclose interests; after disclosure they must not take part in related Board matters and are disregarded for quorum where relevant.

The Board must hold at least four meetings each financial year, ensure no more than four months pass between meetings, and confirm meeting dates at least five working days in advance.

The Board must competitively recruit the Director-General of the Service openly and transparently and on terms specified in the instrument of appointment.

The Director-General is the chief executive officer of the Service and is responsible to the Board for day-to-day management and general superintendence of matters under this Act; the Director-General must carry out, manage and exercise the Service's functions and powers, ensure efficient administration, recommend recruitment, collaborate with agencies, enter into agreements on Board direction, and perform other Board-directed functions; the Director-General may delegate powers in writing, subject to Board approval and an exception for the delegation power itself.

The Board must, within a reasonable time, provide a staff superannuation scheme; and every person appointed under subsection (1)(b) must take and subscribe the oath of allegiance in Part C of the First Schedule.

The Cabinet Secretary may appoint certain police or armed forces officers as authorised officers after consulting the Council and Director-General and with Board approval; persons so appointed must perform functions the Board specifies.

The Director-General may, with the Board's approval and by Gazette notice, appoint people as honorary fisheries officers to assist the Service; those officers hold office under conditions the Director prescribes for five years and have functions prescribed by rules under the Act.

Establishes within the Service a Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Unit (MCS Unit) and sets out its functions, composition and certain administrative arrangements.

Creates an Inter-agency Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Unit; the Cabinet Secretary may make regulations for it; the Unit must include specified members, must ensure coordinated enforcement and compliance, the Director-General must chair it, and the Service must act as its secretariat.

Establishes the Kenya Fisheries Service and makes it responsible for conserving, managing and developing Kenya's fisheries resources; grants corporate powers (including suing and property transactions); requires that the Service's common seal be affixed only pursuant to a Board resolution and that affixing be attested by two Board members.

The Service must have its headquarters in Nairobi and may establish offices in the counties to provide services at the county level.

The Service must ensure conservation, management, sustainable use, development and protection of fisheries resources.

The Service's funds come from Parliamentary appropriations, assets or monies accruing to it in the exercise of its functions, and other provided, donated or lent monies; the Service may invest (with Board and Cabinet Secretary approval), may open and maintain a bank account approved by National Treasury, and must maintain one account and pay all its moneys into it.

The financial year of the Service shall be the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June in each year.

The Board must prepare annual revenue and expenditure estimates at least three months before each financial year and include specified items (staff costs; retirement benefits; equipment and movable property) in those estimates.

The Board must ensure proper books and records are kept for the Service's income, expenditure and assets.

Requires the Director‑General to report to the Board annually (performance and a Board‑audited financial report), prescribes accrual accounting for financial reports, requires the Board and Cabinet Secretary to transmit reports to Parliament, and requires the Service to make the reports public after presentation to Parliament.

Establishes the Fisheries Research and Development Fund, administered by the Director-General; lists sources of monies and states the Cabinet Secretary may, by Gazette notice, provide for the mode of administration.

Establishes the Fish Levy Trust Fund and gives the Cabinet Secretary power to impose a fish levy payable by persons engaged in fishing or fishing-related activities; funds may include donations and designated sums.

Section 75 lists kinds of information, data and records covered and enumerates persons and categories who may be required to keep, furnish or provide such accounts, records and information under the Act.

The Government owns specified information and data from vessel monitoring systems.

True copies of partnership or similar agreements between vessel agents and vessel owners must be deposited with the Ministry when applying for a licence or authorisation for a foreign fishing vessel; sensitive commercial information may be concealed if declared, certified and legally notarised; contravening the deposit requirement and improper disclosure or concealment by non-parties are offences subject to specified fines or imprisonment.

Labels for containers of fish harvested in Kenya fishery waters must state they were harvested in Kenya fishery waters, must not indicate they are the product of another State, must show vessel and company names, and other prescribed information; contravening this is an offence punishable by a fine of three hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment up to three years or both.

Persons who keep, furnish or communicate accounts or information under the Act must not give information that is false, misleading or inaccurate in any material respect; doing so is an offence punishable by fines, imprisonment, or licence revocation.

Persons carrying out duties under the Act, including the Cabinet Secretary, Board members and Director-General, must not reveal confidential information acquired by virtue of their authority to persons without that authority unless authorized by the Act.

The Director-General must establish and maintain a national register of licences and authorizations and provide access and sufficient information for fisheries management, with persons able to access non-confidential register information on payment of a prescribed fee.

The Director-General must keep and publish a record of outcomes of legal or administrative action for violations of the Act that result in a judgment or administrative determination.

The Director-General must make information available to the public and must, as necessary, disseminate relevant information to stakeholders for fisheries conservation, management and development, except information designated confidential under section 82.

All fisheries resources vest in the State; community members may use customary fisheries subject to conditions prescribed under the Act.

Section 30: Fisheries development measures

The Director-General must publish in the Gazette any international conservation and management measures Kenya recognizes under this Act and must append the relevant agreement or arrangement to that notice.

Implementation of international conservation and management measures

The Director-General must consult and keep all County Governments informed about relevant fisheries management measures and processes; each County must collaborate with the Director-General and inform the Director-General, by effective means of communication, of relevant fisheries management developments within the County.

Each County may develop fisheries management measures and plans for fisheries resources within its jurisdiction.

Counties must submit fisheries management plans to the Director-General for endorsement and, to the extent possible, take into consideration the elements described in section 39.

If a County fisheries management plan conflicts with this Act, the Director-General must consult the County government and give appropriate direction; the Director-General must serve the County government with a notice requiring specified action within a specified period; and if the County does not act, the Director-General must prepare a report and submit it to the Cabinet Secretary with recommendations.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations to set standards for management of beach management units established by county governments to ensure structured community participation in fisheries management.

The Director-General must plan for the conservation, management, development and sustainable use of all fish and fisheries within Kenya fishery waters.

The Director-General must prepare, keep under review and implement fisheries management plans for designated fisheries in Kenya fishery waters; plans take effect on Gazette publication, have regulatory force, and persons engaged in fishing or related activities must supply required information.

Section 40 authorises fisheries management measures and provides that any person who contravenes a notice under this section commits an offence punishable (industrial fishing) by a fine up to five hundred thousand shillings or up to one year imprisonment or both, and (artisanal fishing) by a fine up to twenty thousand shillings or up to three months imprisonment or both.

The Director-General may limit fishing by taking management measures and must notify affected persons in writing; an aggrieved person may appeal in writing to the Cabinet Secretary.

Section 42 lists fishing gear and methods that persons must not use for fishing (including unauthorised gear, fish aggregating devices without authorization, trawl nets below prescribed mesh sizes, pair trawling, monofilament nets, multiple nets with trawl nets, certain attachments, gill nets or seine nets below specified mesh sizes, beach seines, firearms or electric shock devices, explosives, poisons and other noxious substances), and provides mesh-size specifications, depth and river-barrier prohibitions, a presumption about banned substances found on vessels, and penalties for contraventions.

Prohibits damage, destruction or interference with fishing gear, other vessels and persons in Kenya fishery waters and prescribes penalties and compensation.

No person must dump, leave or abandon gear, moorings or other objects in the sea or on the seabed if those objects may harm fish or other marine organisms, impede harvesting, damage gear or endanger vessels.

The Cabinet Secretary may declare species of fish endangered and must, where possible, include species listed under international agreements; unless the Cabinet Secretary provides otherwise, persons must not fish for, catch, possess, transport, process, buy or sell declared species.

Persons are prohibited from fishing for marine mammals in Kenya fishery waters or using Kenyan ports to equip or supply vessels for that purpose; the Director-General may authorize limited research fishing; contravening (1) or (2) is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding 500,000 shillings or imprisonment up to three years or both.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations, subject to approval by the National Assembly, to give effect to Section 47.

People or government bodies planning non-fishing activities likely to harm fish or their habitat must apply to the Director-General before starting; the Director-General must refer applications to the National Management Authority for a report, which must be completed within six months; reports must be taken into account when planning; breaches are offences with fines, imprisonment, compensation and restoration costs.

People must not introduce harmful articles or substances into Kenya fishery waters; breaches are an offence with fines, imprisonment, compensation and licence suspension powers for the Director-General.

Only persons who are sport fishermen may land fish anywhere other than at a fish landing station or designated port; others must land fish at a fish landing station or port.

The section sets conditions for placing live fish (including when a fish farmer stocks a pond from another farmer in the same catchment) and states that contravention is an offence punishable by a fine up to 350,000 shillings or imprisonment up to two years, or both.

The Director-General may, by written notice, direct qualified persons to carry out periodic fish stock assessments, collect and analyse data and forward it to the Board; data collected under this section must be kept in a database; contravening a notice is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding 100,000 shillings or imprisonment up to one year or both.

It is prohibited to take, import, export, tranship, land, transport, sell, receive, acquire or buy any fish or fish product taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of another State or of international conservation and management measures.

Imports and releases of live fish into Kenya are prohibited without written approval of the Director-General; approval requires an environmental impact assessment, conditions apply to release approvals, the Director may order forfeiture and destruction of unsuitable imports, and importers/exporters of destroyed fish are not entitled to compensation.

No person shall export any live fish from Kenya except in accordance with regulations.

Persons who have clear cause to believe that fish or fish products were obtained in contravention of the Act must not buy, sell, possess or otherwise trade in those fish or fish products.

Section 57. Promotion of fish production and marketing Section enter into arrangements and agreements with registered associations or institutions for the management development and administration of fisheries, and

The Ministry responsible for the Service is designated as the competent authority for official control of fish safety; the Cabinet Secretary must establish a technical committee and perform multiple functions (monitoring production, regulating handling and marketing, collaborating with agencies, inspections, setting procedures and conditions for market placement, maintaining an approved register, issuing health certificates, and other necessary functions).

The Director-General may enter into arrangements or agreements with other States (within shared fishery resources) to harmonize fish safety and quality standards, subject to the Treaty Making and Ratification Act (Cap. 4D) and consultation with the Cabinet Secretary.

Selling or exporting fish or fish products that are adulterated, contaminated, fail inspection standards, or are injurious to human health is prohibited; a person who knowingly and wilfully contravenes this commits an offence punishable by a fine up to one million shillings, or imprisonment up to ten years, or both, and forfeiture of the fish or fish products.

No person may engage in commercial aquaculture activities except in accordance with this Act; contravention is an offence punishable by a fine of up to three hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

The Director-General must prepare an aquaculture development plan, in consultation with the Oceans and Fisheries Advisory Council, for review and endorsement by the Board and approval by the Cabinet Secretary; plans last three years and must include specified contents.

Aquaculture development is ecologically sustainable and allows rational use of the resource shared by aquaculture and other activities.

No person must, by carrying out aquaculture activities, deprive a local community of its traditional access to fishing grounds without good cause and without first consulting the affected community; contravention is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment not exceeding three years and the offender must restore the community's access.

County governments must monitor aquaculture and mariculture in their areas; if disease risks arise they must (in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary) notify owners to destroy infected fish or take other measures; recipients must comply at their expense; failure is an offence punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment and costs; officers issuing notices without justification are personally liable.

It is prohibited for a person to introduce, transfer, import, export or release exotic or genetically modified fish (or their eggs/fingerlings/seed) into Kenya or its fishery waters except where permission is granted by the Director-General with the Board's written approval and after an environmental impact assessment; contravention is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding one million shillings or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both.

The Director-General may inspect fish imported for aquaculture or destined for export, and may seize, hold, quarantine, disinfect or destroy live fish imported or destined for import/export for aquaculture; the Director-General shall take measures if species are determined to be diseased or highly invasive.

Persons must prevent aquaculture waste from creating unsightly or offensive conditions and must secure or treat it to stop it being blown, washed or swept off the licence area; the Director-General may notify and require redesign and persons notified must comply; contraventions are an offence with fines, imprisonment or compensation.

Persons engaged in commercial aquaculture must take measures to prevent or minimise escape of aquaculture stock into the wild; operators must act to limit and repair damage and must notify the Director-General within seven days after becoming aware of an escape or damage.

Persons in commercial aquaculture establishments must not use drugs, pharmaceuticals, antibiotics or other chemicals for treating fish diseases or enhancing fish growth without the written approval of the Director-General.

The Director-General has the authority to collect information and data on wild and genetically modified species to assess their impact on aquaculture.

It is prohibited to interfere with an aquaculture establishment as described in subsection (1); a person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and may be fined up to two hundred thousand shillings, imprisoned for up to five years, or both, and must compensate the licensee for direct damage.

Escapement of aquaculture species into shared water bodies.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations to implement this Act, including on specific aquaculture matters listed in subsection (2).

The provision lists detailed reporting information required in subsection (1) for industrial fishing vessels and states that a person who contravenes any condition in subsection (1) commits an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding one million shillings or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both.

Sets conditions for registration and marking of semi-industrial fishing vessels, requires Director-General inspections and issuance of certificates upon payment, restricts gear on undecked vessels, and creates offence with fines or imprisonment for contraventions.

Lists required reporting information for semi-industrial fishing vessels, including date of fishing, gear type, species and quantities taken or returned, place of landing/transhipment, other prescribed information, and certification that the information is true, complete and correct.

Owners of artisanal fishing vessels must apply for a registration number on a prescribed form; displaying and valid registration-number requirements are set out, and contravention is an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

Certain registration, inspection and certification powers and penalties for unregistered fishing vessels are set out, including Director-General inspection/registration powers, a county executive's power to exempt recreational vessels, and offences with fines and imprisonment.

An application for a licence, authorization or registration under this Act shall be made in the prescribed form, unless otherwise provided.

Recreational fishing vessels must be registered, display their registration number as prescribed, be inspected on application, and, if fit and fees paid, receive identification markings and a certificate; contravention of these conditions is an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

Operators must obtain prior authorization from the Director-General for transhipment or loading, applying at least seventy-two hours before transhipment and paying the required fee; operators must also submit a transhipment report within seventy-two hours and comply with marine-environment laws.

Deploying or maintaining a fish aggregating device in Kenyan fishery waters is prohibited for any person unless authorized in writing by the Director-General; the Director-General may set conditions and authorizations may be electronic; the master of a vessel placing a device must notify the Director-General within 24 hours; contravention of specified subsections is an offence punishable by a fine up to five hundred thousand shillings or up to one year imprisonment or both.

The Director-General may designate fish aggregating devices; generally no person may fish within one nautical mile of a designated device except with the Director-General's permission and conditions; the Cabinet Secretary may allow Kenyan nationals to fish within a specified radius by public notice; contravening subsection (2) is an offence with penalties including a fine up to five hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment up to one year or both.

Fishing devices must be marked with owner and vessel name and be equipped with a radar reflector and lights visible at night from one nautical mile; a person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to both.

No person must use or dispose of a fish aggregating device except in accordance with the Act or as required by the Cabinet Secretary; contravention is an offence punishable by up to a ten million shilling fine or up to one year imprisonment, or both.

Section 112 sets conditions for fish processing licences, requires compliance with health, hygiene and environmental laws and food safety laws, requires notification of changes to application information within three working days, requires licences to be posted and produced for inspection, and makes contravention an offence punishable by a fine up to five hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment up to five years or both.

Fish processing licences last no more than one year, are renewed annually, may be denied renewal for specific grounds including convictions or non-compliance, fees/conditions can be changed during validity, and licences may be suspended or terminated for unrectified non-compliance or unpaid fines.

Inspectors must request and keep records about fish processing operations; persons must promptly provide requested information; inspectors must provide inspection certificates; contravening this section is an offence punishable by a fine up to 100000 shillings or up to three years imprisonment or both.

The Director-General may request data returns under subsection (1); any person so requested must promptly provide the information, and contravening subsection (2) is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both.

No person may establish or operate a commercial aquaculture establishment unless they hold an aquaculture licence granted by the Director-General under section 122; contraventions and certain unauthorised harvesting are offences with fines and/or imprisonment.

Buyers or transferees of an aquaculture establishment must give notice of the sale or transfer to the Director-General within fourteen days after the sale or transfer.

An application for an aquaculture permit must be made to the Director-General in the prescribed form; the Director-General may approve the application subject to an environment impact assessment licence where applicable; the permit confers on the holder exclusive rights to harvest within the area specified.

Sets application, documentation, notice, environmental assessment, change-notification and penalty rules for aquaculture licence applications to the Director-General.

Section 120 lists criteria for approving an aquaculture licence: applicants must demonstrate technical and financial ability; state the species and aquaculture method proposed; and the Director-General may consider any other relevant matters. If multiple applicants apply for the same site, the Director-General (consulting the relevant County) shall give preference to the applicant judged best overall based on the application information.

The Director-General may require an authorised officer to inspect a site proposed by a licence applicant to determine suitability, and may require the applicant to pay a prescribed fee for that inspection.

Sets conditions for aquaculture licences, including licence validity, a range of operational and environmental conditions, record-keeping, compliance with other legislation, automatic termination if development is not completed in the specified time, liability for damage caused by the licence holder, and offences and penalties for contraventions.

An aquaculture licence gives the licence holder the exclusive right to harvest products from the relevant aquaculture establishment within the area specified in the licence.

Section 84 lists activities for which licences or authorizations are required, and requires the Cabinet Secretary to prescribe standards for vessel registration and for county governments to grant, renew and revoke licences under subsection (2).

People who fish only for non-commercial subsistence consumption are exempt from needing a licence but must apply to the county government for registration; the Cabinet Secretary can set quantities for 'own consumption' by Gazette order; subsection (1) does not apply to persons employed by a licensee or to a company that is a licensee for acts done as such.

The Board may approve licence grants or renewals on the Director-General's recommendation after pre-licensing requirements are met and licences must be issued or renewed upon the Cabinet Secretary's written endorsement; the Director-General must follow required procedures, promptly issue licences once conditions are met and endorsement obtained, and must give written reasons and promptly transmit them to the applicant if declining.

Director-General must take into account the ability of a vessel's flag State to ensure its vessels comply with Kenya's laws when approving or renewing licences for non-Kenya fishing vessels and when setting related performance bonds.

Lists specific grounds on which licences and authorizations may be denied for vessels and aquaculture activities.

Describes application requirements; Director-General may return, decline, suspend or cancel licences; applicants may submit revised applications.

Holders of licences or authorizations must carry or display licences (or certified copies) as required; masters must produce licences on request; the Director-General may temporarily authorise carrying a true copy when the original cannot reasonably be placed on board; contravening subsections (3), (4) or (5) is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding three hundred and fifty or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both.

Foreign applicants for licences or authorizations must, as far as possible and in a manner approved by the Director-General in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary, contribute to training and employment of Kenyan citizens; contravening subsection (2) or failing to meet Director-General requirements under subsection (3) is an offence punishable by a fine up to three hundred thousand shillings.

A licence or authorization issued under this Act is valid for a maximum period of one year and may be renewable, subject to fisheries management decisions and the licence terms and conditions.

Section 93 permits the Director-General to charge certain licence-related fees and requires deposit and use of observer-related fee components into the Fund for the observer programme.

Section 94. Suspension or cancellation of licence or authorization Section 94(1)(a) any applicable law or international agreement providing for such suspension or cancellation; Section 94(1)(a)(i) any applicable law or international

Licences and authorizations terminate automatically in specified circumstances; no refund is payable for terminated licences; no person may engage in activities under a licence after it has terminated; contravening that prohibition is an offence punishable by a fine up to one million shillings or imprisonment up to five years or both.

A licence issued to an industrial fishing vessel may be transferred to another industrial fishing vessel with the same characteristics and under the same agency only with written authorization by the Director-General and endorsement by the Cabinet Secretary.

Provides a right of appeal.

Lists conditions for industrial or semi‑industrial fishing vessels and operators, including marking, flag, registration, crew nationality, gear approvals, compliance with safety and inspection directions, and other conditions set by the Cabinet Secretary or prescribed.

Operators of industrial fishing vessels must comply with a range of conditions (logbooks in English, vessel-monitoring equipment, carry an observer, report positions every 24 hours in Kenya fishery waters, monitor distress/safety frequencies, carry International Code of Signals and charts, limits on bycatch retention, prohibitions on fishing in closed or protected areas, and ensure English communication aboard) and failure to comply is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding fifty million shillings or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both.

Persons must not engage in fishing or related activities that require a licence or authorization; using a vessel in an offence makes owners, operators, masters and charterers be deemed to have committed the offence; contravening subsection (1) is an offence punishable by a fine up to five hundred thousand or imprisonment up to five years or both.

Foreign fishing vessels may enter Kenyan fishery waters only for purposes recognised by international law or relevant Kenyan law.

Persons who contravene subsection (1) commit an offence and on conviction face a minimum fine of five million shillings or minimum five years imprisonment, or both.

Persons are prohibited from engaging in transhipment activities at sea, except as otherwise provided by the Act.

The Cabinet Secretary may permit access for foreign fishing vessels to fishery waters for fishing or fishing-related activities, subject to this Act, applicable agreements and policies, advice of the Fisheries Advisory Council, and any terms the Cabinet Secretary requires on the Director-General's advice; applicants must not have engaged in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing in the five years prior and the Cabinet Secretary must determine benefits to Kenya.

The operator must comply with all laws of Kenya.

Section 130 lists review factors for fisheries access and gives the Cabinet Secretary power to prescribe or require other matters in relation to fisheries access.

Agreements for joint ventures or chartering foreign fishing vessels are not valid unless approved by the Cabinet Secretary on the advice of the Director-General and must satisfy the listed criteria including vesting operational control in Kenyans and specified ownership, control and equity by Kenyan citizens.

Operators of foreign fishing vessels must designate an agent in Kenya authorised to accept service and provide information; companies must notify the Director-General promptly of specified alterations; agents must meet residency, character and conduct requirements; contraventions are offences punishable by fine or imprisonment.

Preference for Kenya products: materials and products made in Kenya.

The Cabinet Secretary may require a performance bond for non‑Kenyan fishing vessels as a licence precondition or during the licence period; performance bonds serve as financial assurance; the Director‑General determines the bond amount in consultation with the Board; specified forms of assurance are listed; the Director‑General may serve a notice of demand and register it, and if the bond is not provided the licence may be cancelled by the Cabinet Secretary.

A foreign fishing vessel may be allowed to enter port in cases of force majeure or distress to render assistance to persons, ships or aircraft in danger or distress.

Authorized officers may take reasonable actions and give directions to exercise their powers (including use of reasonable force), may require assistance from any person (who while assisting is deemed an authorized officer for that time), Act provisions apply to duties beyond national jurisdiction unless international agreements provide otherwise, and officers serving under another State must report to the Director-General as required; defines MCS.

Authorized officers must, when exercising powers under the Act and upon request, identify themselves and produce evidence; producing an identification document is sufficient authority to act until proven otherwise.

Authorized officers, inspectors, observers and other personnel who board and inspect fishing vessels must sign the prescribed Declaration of Boarding and Inspection form and promptly provide it to the Director-General; an authorized officer or inspector who participated in a boarding (other than in port) must complete the form and promptly provide it to the Director-General.

An authorized officer may, following hot pursuit from within Kenya fishery waters and in accordance with international law, stop, board and search vessels outside the fisheries waters suspected of being used in an offence under this Act, exercise powers under the Act and return the vessel and persons to Kenya fishery waters.

Authorized officers have powers to enter, search, stop and examine persons and things, detain items or persons for examination, and (for dwelling houses) may only search or seize with a court warrant.

Powers to inspect, take, detain, remove and secure samples, documents or other information and to require reproduction of information or production of documents and answers for monitoring or enforcement.

Authorized officers may arrest persons in specified circumstances and, if they do so, must deliver the arrested person into the custody of a Kenya Police Force member as soon as practicable.

An authorized officer may order a vessel to the nearest available Kenyan port (or an agreed port), remain in control of it at that port for a limited period, and give reasonable directions to the master or persons on board.

Authorized officers may seize vessels, gear, fish, articles and things believed on reasonable grounds to be connected to offences under the Act; seized items are to be delivered into the custody of the Director-General; authorized officers must give a written notice of seizure stating reasons to the person from whom items were seized or a person believed to be owner or entitled to possession; "Court" is defined as the High Court.

Authorized officers may remove parts from seized vessels to immobilize them and must take reasonable measures to avoid permanent or material damage; persons must not obtain, substitute, or fit removed parts; contravening those prohibitions is an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

Authorized officers must apply to court for an order to dispose of abandoned fishing vessels, gear, fish or fish products when they have reason to believe abandonment was to avoid prosecution; authorized officers or inspectors may carry out investigation measures for areas or property formerly controlled by a suspect where abandonment and suspicion of offences or absconding exists.

Observers may be deployed by direction of the Director-General, under this Act or relevant international agreements, to monitor vessels and fisheries operations.

Inspectors and observers must identify themselves and produce proof of identification on request; inspectors and observers are appointed for monitoring, compliance, auditing and the observer programme operates under standards the Board may prescribe or approve.

Observers performing duties beyond national jurisdiction remain subject to all provisions of this Act unless the contrary is provided.

Operators required by licence to land catch in Kenya must only offload where an observer or inspector is present; failure is an offence with a fine up to five hundred thousand shillings, licence cancellation and at least one year without a new licence.

Operators, vessel crew and licence-holders must comply with specified requirements to inspectors and observers (boarding, communication, photographing, information gathering, disembarkation); failure is an offence with fines not less than ten million shillings or imprisonment not less than five years or both.

Vessel operators or licence holders must provide specified board, accommodation, facilities, sampling workspace and cooperate with observers (including notifications and transfers); contravention is an offence with fines, imprisonment or licence suspension/cancellation.

Defines "authorized person" to include any authorized officer, inspector or observer appointed under this Act.

Authorized persons acting in good faith for the Service are not liable for damage resulting from acts or omissions in performance of their duties; the master must remain in control and be responsible for vessel and persons until arrival at the designated place; the State is not liable for acts of authorized persons unless that person would incur liability.

The Service must ensure full group insurance coverage for all authorized persons.

It is an offence to obstruct, resist, hinder, impersonate, bribe, or otherwise fail to comply with or impede authorized persons exercising duties under this Act; conviction carries a fine of not less than fifty million shillings or imprisonment up to ten years or both, and licence suspension or cancellation may also apply.

The Director-General may establish and operate vessel monitoring systems and may require fishing vessel operators to install, maintain and operate specified transceiver equipment; operators must notify failures and cease fishing as required; interfering with equipment or unauthorised disclosure is an offence punishable by a fine of not less than ten million shillings or imprisonment for less than ten years and possible licence suspension or cancellation.

Using a port without meeting the specified conditions or authorizations is prohibited; operators, masters and charterers who contravene this commit an offence.

Persons who contravene the denial of port entry rule commit an offence punishable on conviction by a fine of not less than fifty million shillings, or imprisonment for not less than ten years, or both.

Section 160 lists grounds on which a foreign fishing vessel may be denied use of port, limits certain denials for essential safety, and creates offences and penalties for operators and those who assist denied vessels.

Sets procedural expectations for inspections of foreign fishing vessels in port, including presentation of identification, arrangements with flag States, non-interference with masters communicating with their flag State, minimizing delay and inconvenience (including limiting presence of authorized officers), facilitating communication with masters or senior crew, conducting inspections fairly and without harassment, and requiring a prompt inspection report to the Director-General.

The Director-General must promptly notify the flag State when foreign fishing vessels are arrested or detained; foreign vessels and crews arrested for fishing offences shall be released upon posting a reasonable bond or other security; penalties in the Kenya Exclusive Economic Zone for violations shall not include imprisonment or corporal punishment unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Arrested persons must be promptly brought before the appropriate Court or be subject to administrative proceedings; seized items must be returned if the person is released without charge or if prosecution is not instituted within thirty days after charge; seized items are forfeited to the State if the person does not appear within ninety days after arrest.

When bail is granted to the master of a fishing vessel, the court granting bail may impose conditions pending the conclusion of the case that deny the accused access to the vessel or permit access only under conditions the Court determines.

Seized items must be delivered into the custody of the Director-General; a written notice stating the grounds for seizure must be given to the person from whom the item was seized or to any person the fisheries inspector believes is the owner or entitled to possession.

Seized fish or fish products may be sold at the direction of the Director-General and the proceeds are to be dealt with under the Act.

When a vessel, vehicle, aircraft or other item is seized or detained under this Act, reasonable efforts must be made to notify the owner(s), and the notice should enumerate reasons, describe reclamation steps, and inform owners of deadlines and potential forfeiture.

The Director may apply to have seized vessels, vehicles, aircraft or items forfeited to the State if a charged person fails to appear within ninety days after service or attempted service of notice, and the Court must make any order it deems fit.

The Court may order release of seized vessels, vehicles, aircraft or other items on application and receipt of bond or security; the Court must state sums attributable to property, fines and costs when release is on security and must set an amount not less than fair market value or aggregate minimum fine, and the Court need not release items required as exhibits or for investigations.

Applies bond and the discharge of any forfeiture ordered under this Act

Persons must not remove vessels, vehicles, aircraft or other items held under the Act and in the custody of the Government; unlawful removal makes the item liable to seizure and the person commits an offence punishable by a fine up to five thousand shillings or imprisonment up to five years or both.

The State is not liable to any person for loss, damage or deterioration of vessels, vehicles, aircraft or other items in the State's custody if the State takes reasonable care given the circumstances.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations to carry the Act into effect and may make regulations on many specified matters relating to fisheries.

If there is any conflict between this Act and any other law on fisheries matters, this Act's provisions prevail.

Allows a certificate to state whether a specified vessel was a Kenyan fishing vessel or a foreign fishing vessel on specified date(s).

When a certificate made under section 175 is produced in proceedings, the prosecution is not obliged to call the certificate maker, and the Court shall, where material and unless the contrary is proved, rely on the facts stated in the certificate.

A certificate by an authorized officer stating the place or area where a vessel was at a stated date/time is evidence of that location unless the contrary is proved.

Readings from electronic location devices integral to a vessel monitoring system are admissible and may be used as prima facie evidence; such readings may be from a printout or observed on a visual display unit; electronic location devices must be capable of producing the readings themselves and not merely be receivers of information.

If a photograph of fishing activity shows the date, time and position superimposed on it, those details are prima facie evidence of when and where the photograph was taken.

Section 178 sets out legal presumptions for evidence in proceedings under the Act, including presumptions about fish found on board vessels, logbook entries, certified extracts, position-fixing instruments, equipment readings, and who provided vessel information.

Where a person is charged in proceedings under this Act, the onus is on that person to prove specified facts (possession of required permission, lawful purpose for entry into fishery waters under section 127, or truthfulness of information under section 80).

People are prohibited from destroying, discarding, removing or interfering with fish, equipment, documents, premises or other items to avoid seizure or detection; contravention is an offence punishable by up to KSh 500,000 or up to five years' imprisonment, or both.

People must not tamper with items, documents or things that may be used as evidence of non-compliance with the Act.

Director-General may proceed administratively against a charged person with Cabinet Secretary consultation and Attorney-General consent; must notify the charged person who then has 24 hours to consent to compounding; failure to respond within 24 hours leads to prosecution; consenting causes seizure and waiver consequences; Director-General or designee may handle matters after written consent.

Section 183 sets rules for compounding offences including binding effects on payment, timelines for payment, powers for the Director-General to release seized items or confiscate gear, a right of defence if an offence was compounded, permission to enter instalment payment agreements with the Director-General and Attorney-General, and a right to appeal the Director-General's decisions to the High Court within thirty days.

Section 184 sets out when offences are treated as within Kenya fishery waters (subsections (1)(a)–(d)), deems acts committed outside those waters by authorised officers exercising powers under the Act to be within Kenya fishery waters (subsection (2)), and allows an information or charge for an offence under the Act to be laid within one year of the commission of the offence (subsection (3)).

Any authorized officer may, subject to the Director of Public Prosecutions' direction, conduct prosecutions under this Act or its regulations, and shall have the powers of a public prosecutor under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 75).

Certain items involved in the commission of an offence — including fish and fish products, fishing vessels (with their gear and stores), vehicles, aircraft, gear, equipment, explosive or noxious substances, fish on board vessels/vehicles/aircraft, fish or fish products in storage used in the offence, and proceeds from sale of fish — are subject to forfeiture.

Forfeited vessels or other property become the property of the State; the State may lease or sell such property (sales by tender or agreement require approval by the Director-General and endorsement by the Cabinet Secretary); the Director-General and persons acting for him are not liable for costs or damages from decisions under subsection (2).

A court that convicts a person may inquire into and, based on reliable expert evidence, impose a fine equal to the pecuniary benefit obtained from the offence; when imposing such a fine the court must report in writing the expert evidence details.

The Court may recover costs and must impose those costs in addition to any fine; the Government must serve written details of pursuit costs to the defendant 14 days before trial if it intends to apply for them.

Pecuniary penalties, forfeitures, rents, charges, expenses, duties and other sums payable under this Act may be sued for, determined, enforced and recovered by civil proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction in the name of the State as the nominal plaintiff.

A person convicted of an offence under this Act is liable for any loss or damage caused and the Court may order restitution in addition to a fine, recoverable as a fine.

Officers of companies and similar enterprises are personally liable for violations or offences under this title by members or employees.

For proceedings under the Act, the act or omission of a crew member of a fishing vessel (or in association with it) is treated as the act or omission of the vessel's operator, unless expressly provided otherwise.

If a person charged has committed a similar offence before, they must be charged a fine not less than the previous fine plus an additional ten percent.

If a person is convicted under this Act, the Court may order that person be banned from going on or remaining aboard any fishing vessel in Kenyan fishery waters for up to five years.

A person who suffers loss or damage from a breach of this Act or its regulations may sue in court against any responsible person, except the Government and its employees.

A court of competent jurisdiction may issue an injunction to enforce any provision of this Act against any person, including the Ministry.

Establishes the Kenya Fish Marketing Authority, describes its corporate capacities and states its headquarters are in Nairobi.

The Fish Marketing Authority's purpose is to market fish and fisheries products from Kenya.

The Fish Marketing Authority has the function to develop, implement and co-ordinate a national fish marketing strategy.

Section 201 establishes the Board of Directors composition and roles: lists appointed members, requires certain nominations be laid before the National Assembly for approval, requires staggered appointments, obliges the Board to ensure proper performance of the Authority's functions, permits the Board to enter into partnerships domestically or internationally to further its objects, and provides that members are paid remuneration and allowances as determined by the Cabinet Secretary.

Members appointed under section 201 serve three-year terms and may be re-appointed once; non‑ex officio members may resign in writing; absence from three consecutive meetings without sufficient cause leads to cessation; the Cabinet Secretary decides on vacancies caused by inability and appoints replacements in specified circumstances.

Meetings of the Board of Directors must be conducted in accordance with the Third Schedule.

Board members must disclose any interest in matters before the Board and must not take part in related deliberations; failure to disclose leads to cessation of membership.

The Board of Directors may, by resolution, delegate any of its powers or the performance of its functions or duties to a board committee or to a member, officer, employee or agent of the Fish Marketing Authority, subject to this Act.

The Cabinet Secretary must appoint a Chief Executive Officer for the Fish Marketing Board by competitive process, with qualification requirements, a three-year term eligible for one re-appointment, and the Board may appoint other necessary staff.

Section 207 lists the Authority's funding sources, requires expenditures to be paid out of the Authority's general fund, and allows the Authority to invest surplus funds with finance Cabinet Secretary approval.

Section 210 sets out repeals and transitional arrangements: specified earlier fisheries statutes are repealed; licences/permits in force are deemed granted under this Act with Cabinet Secretary approval; property, contracts, and staff are transferred or vested subject to Cabinet Secretary approval; public officers are deemed seconded to the Service; employees with outstanding disciplinary penalties must serve them on transfer.