Reef decline in the Indian Ocean has left Kenya with 23 commercially important reef fish species at risk of local extinction. With its natural bounties – including beaches, mangroves, coral reefs, and plant and animal life – the country’s marine and coastal environments are of high ecological and economic value. However, an increase in the population along with the unplanned development of towns and the effects of climate change has resulted in the acceleration of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in marine ecosystems – with severe consequences.

The local extinction and collapse of these reef fish species could lead to Kenya’s fishermen losing their livelihood. Dr Levy Otwoma’s Future Africa Research Leader Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) project quantifies local extinction and the shifting baselines of Kenya’s exploited reef fishes.

The pattern of extinction among tropical marine fish species is rarely investigated, particularly in poor coastal nations. Yet it is critical, as coastal communities and trade networks are often closely linked. People’s livelihoods depend on these fisheries; they are also a source of protein and a form of food security. A holistic understanding of the status of reef fish species is needed to counter the continuing loss of yields and income, and the degradation of coral reefs. The overreaching goal of this research is to integrate the information generated into resource management, because scientific evidence suggests that most management strategies are not delivering their social, ecological and governance goals.

In Kenya, historical and contemporary data exists at local scales, offering a unique opportunity to investigate long-term changes in coral reef fish species abundance and their potential disappearance. Archaeological records show that Swahili people have lived off the sea for millennia. While exploitation in Kenya continues to be artisanal, a decline has been evident since the 1950s.