Abstract
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 used, species composition and relative abundance of landings. Monthly shore-based sampling was undertaken at four locations in 2017 – Ungwana Bay near the estuary mouth, lower and mid-estuary, and upper estuary at Ozi village, ⁓10 km upstream. Fishing gear comprised of seine nets, gillnets, hook-and-line and traditional gear such as self-made traps, sticks and spears operated from the shore (foot fishers), dugout canoes, dhows and fibreglass boats with outboard engines. A total of 12,840 fish and crustacean specimens belonging to 89 species in 45 families were sampled. Landings were dominated by catfishes Arius africanus (31 %) and Clarias gariepinus (21 %), small pelagic fishes Pellona ditchela (10 %) and several sardine species (⁓5 %), croaker Otolithes ruber (10 %), eel catfish Plotosus limbatus (6 %), mullet Mugil cephalus (4 %) and Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (4 %). Multivariate analyses (nMDS and ANOSIM) found that fishing gear (p