1. What is meant by 'capture fisheries'?
Fisheries that involve selling fish at markets only in the country of origin
Fisheries where wild fish are caught from natural waters like lakes, rivers and the sea
Fisheries where fish are raised in ponds and fed until harvest
Fisheries that only use small boats and artisanal methods
Explanation:
Capture fisheries refer to catching wild fish from natural habitats (rivers, lakes, and the sea). Fish farming in ponds is aquaculture, not capture.
2. Which of these correctly distinguishes inland from marine capture fisheries in Kenya?
Inland fisheries always harvest larger fish than marine fisheries
Inland fisheries occur in lakes and rivers like Lake Victoria; marine fisheries occur in the Indian Ocean off the coast
Inland fisheries use boats only; marine fisheries use only nets
Inland fisheries are industrial only; marine fisheries are artisanal only
Explanation:
Inland fisheries take place in freshwater bodies such as Lake Victoria and rivers, while marine fisheries take place in the ocean along Kenya's coast.
3. Which fishing method is typically used to catch schooling pelagic fish and involves encircling them with a net?
Longlining
Gillnetting
Seine netting
Bottom trawling
Explanation:
Seine nets (e.g., purse seines) are used to encircle schools of pelagic fish. Trawling drags a net along the bottom, longlining uses baited lines, and gillnets entangle fish by their gills.
4. What is 'bycatch' in capture fisheries?
Non-target species caught unintentionally while fishing
Fish sold at low price at the market
The practice of releasing juvenile fish immediately
Extra fish caught and kept for research only
Explanation:
Bycatch includes species that are not the intended target and are caught accidentally during fishing operations.
5. Why is mesh size important in fishing nets?
It makes nets lighter so boats can move faster
It increases the amount of bycatch
It allows small, juvenile fish to escape, helping protect future stocks
It determines the net color which attracts fish
Explanation:
Appropriate mesh size lets undersized fish escape, reducing capture of juveniles and helping maintain sustainable fish populations.
6. What does 'stock assessment' in capture fisheries aim to estimate?
The number of boats in a fishing community
The average length of fishermen's working hours
How many fish are sold in the market each day
The size and health of a fish population and whether it is being overfished
Explanation:
Stock assessment uses data to estimate population size, trends, and fishing effects to inform sustainable management.
7. Which indicator is commonly used as a simple measure of fish abundance in a fishing area?
Size of the harbour
Price of fish at market
Number of fishermen in the village
Catch per unit effort (CPUE)
Explanation:
CPUE (catch divided by effort like hours or nets) is a common indicator of fish abundance; declining CPUE may indicate reduced stocks.
8. What is an important reason for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) like Kisite-Mpunguti near the Kenyan coast?
To stop all fishing permanently and prevent any use of the sea by people
To allow larger boats to anchor and increase tourism only
To replace local fishing effort with imported fish
To protect breeding and nursery habitats so fish stocks can recover and support fisheries
Explanation:
MPAs protect critical habitats, helping fish reproduce and grow, which supports long-term fisheries and biodiversity.
9. Which life stage is most important to protect if the goal is to ensure future fish recruitment?
Old, very large fish only
The fishers who catch the fish
Juvenile and spawning-stage fish
Fish processed and sold at market
Explanation:
Protecting juveniles and spawning adults ensures enough young fish survive and are produced to maintain the population (recruitment).
10. What does 'selectivity' of fishing gear mean?
How quickly a net can be repaired at sea
How many nets a fisher can carry on a boat
The color of the fishing gear to match sea conditions
Its ability to catch target species and sizes while avoiding non-targets
Explanation:
Gear selectivity refers to matching gear type and mesh to capture desired species/sizes and reduce bycatch and juvenile catches.
11. Why are closed seasons used as a fisheries management tool?
To protect fish during key breeding periods so they can reproduce
To ban all fishing forever in an area
To increase fish prices by creating scarcity
To force fishers to sell their boats
Explanation:
Closed seasons temporarily stop fishing during spawning times, allowing fish to reproduce and support future stock abundance.
12. Which of the following is a sign of overfishing in a Kenyan lake or coastal fishery?
Smaller average fish sizes and declining catches over time
An increase in the number of fish markets
Boats becoming newer and faster
More tourists visiting the beaches
Explanation:
Overfishing often leads to smaller fish (younger ages) and reduced catches, indicating the stock is being depleted.
13. What role do mangrove forests along the Kenyan coast play for capture fisheries?
They reduce fish populations by blocking water flow
They attract tourists but do not affect fisheries
They are used only for building boats and have no ecological role
They provide nursery areas and shelter for juvenile fish and support coastal fish stocks
Explanation:
Mangroves are vital nursery habitats for many coastal species, increasing survival of juveniles and supporting fisheries productivity.
14. What is the main difference between artisanal and industrial fisheries?
Artisanal fisheries always use illegal gear while industrial are legal
Artisanal fisheries use small boats and gear and support local communities; industrial fisheries use large vessels and operate on a larger scale
Artisanal fisheries catch only small fish and industrial only large fish
Artisanal fisheries only fish in freshwater and industrial only in saltwater
Explanation:
Artisanal fisheries are small-scale, often community-based; industrial fisheries involve larger vessels and commercial operations with greater capacity.
15. Which fishing gear is most likely to damage the seabed and catch many non-target organisms?
Fish traps placed in mangroves
Bottom trawl nets
Small gillnets set near the surface
Handlines
Explanation:
Bottom trawling drags heavy nets across the seabed, causing habitat damage and high bycatch of non-target species.
16. What is 'recruitment' in fish population terms?
The method of recruiting customers at fish markets
The process of hiring new workers on fishing boats
The number of young fish that survive to join the exploitable population
The number of fish exported each year
Explanation:
Recruitment refers to young fish surviving past early life stages to become part of the population available to fisheries.
17. Why is monitoring catch and effort important in fisheries management?
It reduces the number of boats without collecting data
It increases fish prices immediately
It guarantees every fisher a fixed income
It helps detect changes in fish stocks so managers can set rules like limits or closures
Explanation:
Data on catch and effort allow assessment of stock trends and inform management measures to ensure sustainability.
18. Which fish behaviour affects the best time for fishing in coastal waters?
Diurnal and nocturnal movements, such as fish feeding at dawn or dusk
The color preference of fish for different boats
The number of markets operating each day
How often fishermen clean their nets
Explanation:
Many species feed at specific times (dawn, dusk, night), and knowing these patterns helps choose effective fishing times.
19. Which practice helps reduce post-capture losses and maintain fish quality at landing sites?
Using ice or cooling and handling fish carefully immediately after capture
Storing fish in the sun to dry them before transport
Mixing different species together in one container without ice
Leaving fish on the boat for several days before selling
Explanation:
Rapid cooling and proper handling preserve fish quality, reduce spoilage, and improve value at market.
20. What is an example of a simple regulation that can help protect fish populations in Kenyan waters?
Forbidding all fishing in small villages
Limiting the number of fish markets
Setting minimum landing sizes so juveniles are not kept
Requiring fishermen to change boat names yearly
Explanation:
Minimum landing sizes prevent capture of immature fish, allowing them to grow and reproduce, aiding stock sustainability.
21. Which factor does NOT directly affect fish abundance in a lake or coastal area?
Habitat quality such as mangroves and reefs
Water quality and availability of food
Fishing pressure (how much people fish)
The color of the flags on fishing boats
Explanation:
Flag color does not influence fish abundance; habitat, fishing pressure, and water quality directly affect fish populations.
22. Why are spawning aggregations important to fisheries managers?
Because they happen only in deep ocean and never affect coastal fisheries
Because they indicate where to build fish markets
Because they require fishermen to use more nets
Because large groups gather to spawn and protecting these events can prevent large reductions in reproduction
Explanation:
Spawning aggregations are critical for reproduction; targeting them can severely reduce reproductive output, so managers may protect them.
23. Which Kenyan freshwater fishery is well known for supporting many artisanal fishers and biodiversity?
Lake Victoria
The Tana River Delta only for irrigation
The Nairobi River within the city center
Lake Nakuru (tourist flamingo lake)
Explanation:
Lake Victoria supports large artisanal fisheries and biodiversity; other listed waters do not have the same scale of capture fisheries.
24. What is the main environmental concern with using small-mesh gillnets near the shore?
They only catch plankton and not fish
They prevent waves from reaching the beach
They improve fish growth rates too quickly
They catch many juvenile fish and increase bycatch of non-target species
Explanation:
Small-mesh gillnets trap undersized fish and non-target species, harming future stocks and ecosystem balance.
25. How does climate change potentially affect capture fisheries in Kenya?
By increasing the number of fishermen automatically
By making fish invisible to fishing gear
By changing water temperatures and rainfall patterns, which can alter fish distribution and breeding
By causing fish to only live in cages
Explanation:
Climate change alters ocean and lake conditions, affecting where and when fish feed and spawn, which affects fisheries.
26. What is a simple community-based action that can improve sustainability of local capture fisheries?
Stopping all fishing permanently without alternatives
Removing signs that warn about protected areas
Agreeing on local rules like closed seasons, gear restrictions, and protecting nursery areas
Selling all fishing boats to foreign companies
Explanation:
Community-managed rules (seasonal closures, gear limits, habitat protection) can be effective and practical for sustainable fisheries.