An Assessment Of The Potentials Of Artisanal Fisheries In Spearheading The Blue Economy Transformation In Zanzibar Islands

Abstract

This article assesses the potentials of artisanal fisheries in spearheading the on-going Zanzibar blue economy transformation. It focuses on five artisanal fisheries potentials, adopted from the five livelihood assets of the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA); financial, physical, natural, human and social. Data were drawn from 333 artisanal fishers in five Zanzibar villages using a cross-sectional research design. A questionnaire survey was employed to collect data and analysed using descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages.  Qualitative data were obtained through FGDs and direct observations and analysed thematically. The study results revealed that (96%) of fishers lacked access to loans to support their artisanal fisheries. Again, (54.65%) of fishers used canoe, which is one of the traditional and inefficient fishing vessels. Furthermore, (65.17%) of the fishers did not own the fishing vessels, however, majority of them (80.48%) owned fishing gears. The study also shows that there was low application of fishing technologies in artisanal fisheries. It further revealed that (79.88%) of the respondents had informal knowledge and skills which they inherited from their forefathers and (90.69%) of fishers were not attendants of any capacity building programmes organised either by governmental or non-governmental organisations, while, (58.86%) of the fishers sell their fish catches at their village market that lack modern fish preservation infrastructures. It also revealed that (77.78%) were non-members of fishers’ cooperatives. The study, therefore, recommends that the potentials of artisanal fisheries have to be improved and supported by governmental, non-governmental organisations, and other fisheries stakeholders to ensure sustainable spearheading of the exiting blue economy transformation in Zanzibar Islands.