Growing up, all I ever wanted was to work underwater as a marine conservationist. But it wasn't until my first job in Mombasa - waiting under baobab trees for fishers to return so I could measure their catch - that I realized the ocean is much more than what lies beneath the surface. Along Kenya's coastline, I saw first-hand how deeply people's lives are intertwined with the sea.
The ocean shapes daily rhythms, livelihoods, culture, and connections between generations. For millions of people across Africa, the ocean is not an abstract environmental issue. It is a way of life. This June, Kenya will host the 11th annual Our Ocean Conference, the first time the gathering will take place on African soil. It is a historic moment and one that should reshape how the world thinks about the ocean. For many global leaders, the ocean is still treated as secondary to issues like energy, security, or economic growth.
But across Africa, healthy oceans are inseparable from food security, public health, and economic stability. At the heart of this connection is fish. Fish are one of the most important, yet overlooked, pillars of African food systems. In some countries, they provide more than half of all animal protein consumed. Beyond protein, fish supply essential micronutrients and fatty acids vital for healthy development, especially for women and children.
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Much of this food does not come from industrial fleets. It comes from artisanal fishers, traders, and processors whose work supports millions of households, sustains local economies, and feeds coastal communities through local markets.
Yet despite their importance, fish and the people who depend on them are too often absent from global conversations about food security, trade, and development. Losing access to local fish deepens both nutritional and economic vulnerability and displaces traditional diets with unhealthy, cheap imported foods.
Across Africa, overfishing, pollution, and climate change are placing unprecedented pressure on marine ecosystems. On research trips over the years, I have heard the same concerns repeated from one coastline to another: fishing is more dangerous and fish are becoming scarcer and more expensive.
This is not simply an environmental problem; it is a growing food security crisis. More than 10% of the global population could face deficiencies in key nutrients and fatty acids as access to marine fish declines in the coming decades. For vulnerable coastal communities, the consequences could be devastating.
And this crisis is not being driven by the artisanal fisher casting a net at dawn.
Industrial fishing fleets – many foreign-owned – extract enormous quantities of fish from African waters with far too little transparency or accountability. Too often, that catch is exported abroad, processed into animal feed or supplements, or sold to wealthier consumers far removed from the communities where the fish were caught. Taking our fish is taking our future.
A blue economy cannot be truly equitable if coastal communities can no longer afford to eat fish from their own waters.
But there is still time to choose a different path.
As the Our Ocean Conference convenes in Mombasa, African nations have an opportunity to lead by placing food security, justice, and local livelihoods at the center of ocean policy.
That leadership must begin with partnership. Governments should work directly with artisanal fishers, traders, and processors, whose knowledge and experience are essential to effective fisheries management. These communities cannot be treated as an afterthought in decisions that shape their future.
Countries should also expand and enforce inshore exclusion zones – designated coastal areas where industrial and destructive fishing is prohibited. Evidence shows that these zones can significantly increase catches from artisanal fisheries while helping rebuild fish populations and strengthen local food systems.
Finally, transparency and accountability must improve. Governments cannot manage what they cannot see. Stronger monitoring of industrial fleets — including what they do and who owns them — along with better access to fisheries data and meaningful enforcement, is essential to protecting marine resources and the people who depend on them. Compliance is key. Without it, even the best policies will fail to deliver.
The ocean is resilient. Given the chance, fish populations can recover. Coastal ecosystems can rebound. Livelihoods can be restored.
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For too long, the world has framed ocean conservation and food security as competing priorities – as though protecting ecosystems means sacrificing human needs. In reality, the opposite is true. Protecting the ocean is essential to feeding people, sustaining livelihoods, and securing a healthier future.
What happens in Mombasa matters. This conference cannot become another gathering defined by speeches and promises alone. It must mark a turning point – one where African leadership helps build an ocean economy that protects not only marine life but also the communities whose futures depend on it. As Ngugi, Mbembe, and Achebe would tell us, it's time for the world's stories to be told from Africa.
Dr. Christina Chemtai Hicks is an interdisciplinary social scientist and marine conservationist. She is a Professor at Lancaster University and serves on Oceana's Board of Directors.
Editorial note: The Our Ocean Conference is an annual global convening of governments, NGOs, the private sector, and the academic community to advance solutions and secure commitments to address the world's most pressing ocean challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, and pollution.
