Buena Vista Seafood: Kumbatia - Kenyan Reef Fish

One of our special sources for wild seafood is located in the East African country of Kenya.

Kumbatia Seafood is located in the costal city of Mombasa.

International shipments depart from Nairobi, which is an 8 hour drive along the Nairobi Expressway.

The Kenyan coastline has swaying palm trees on one side and the warm Indian Ocean on the other, making it a popular tourist destination.

The Kenyan coral reefs stretch from north to south, characterized by narrow fringing reefs in the south and patchy and discontinuous reefs in the north.

The no-take zone, locally called a tengefu (Swahili for “set aside”), was established following the decline of fish stocks by residents of Kuruwitu, an administrative area with four villages in Kilifi county. The idea was inspired by the fishing habits of their forebears, and it soon caught the attention of conservation organizations and government authorities, who encouraged other communities along the Kenyan coast to set up their own "set-asides".

Kenyan organizations are working on various reef protection and restoration projects. Part of keeping these reefs healthy includes responsible fishing practices and fishermen education.

The tengefu, or "set-aside" directly benefits the fishermen.  Studies  confirm fish stocks have increased; the New York-based NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found already an increase in fish biomass of up to 400% in these areas.

In the heart of the Kumbatia fishing region sits Lamu, a town steeped in Swahili tradition and a UNESCO world heritage site. It is the oldest East African settlement with a nearly 700-year-old history as a cultural hub for trade and maritime activity.

The Kumbatia fishing education and support goes a long way in keeping these communities and traditions alive.

This part of Kenya's northern coast boasts a rich mix of Bantu, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and Southeast Asian cultures which, through the centuries have blended and molded to form unique and rich interconnected history that is the Swahili Coast.

Core to Kumbatia Seafood's mission is teaching artisanal fishing communities how to manage this precious resource.

Kumbatia’s unique training, financing, logistics, and market-based conservation model creates an environment and incentive structure that results in world-class seafood, improved marine conservation, and enhanced livelihoods for artisanal fishing communities.

Practically - this means Kumbatia works directly within the fishing communities to provide coolers, ice, fuel, and fisheries compliance training - all necessary gear and education to create a truly sustainable fishing community.

By training harvesters on industry-best fish handling methods, financing and reducing fishing trip expenses, and implementing an efficient, off-grid, boat-to-processing cold chain facility, Kumbatia empowers its network of fishermen by giving them the skills and resources required to produce traceable and sustainable seafood of world-class quality.

Seafood of this caliber has much higher demand and value than that previously harvested from Kenya’s waters, meaning sustainability and quality compliant fishermen are able to greatly increase their earnings and reduce their expenses.

Kumbatia’s seafood is regularly regarded as the highest quality fish to come from East African waters. In fact, they work closely with a team of sushi test chefs to ensure that the quality not only remains high, but constantly improves.

Kumbatia processes its seafood in an EU, FDA, KEBS, and HACCP-certified facility with state-of-the-art food safety and seafood testing infrastructure, capabilities, and operating procedures.

Kumbatia is in the initial stages of adding vessel monitoring systems (VMS) for its fleet of artisanal fishermen.

Kumbatia has partnered with The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Fauna & Flora Int’l, and Northern Rangelands Trust, among other partners, as the exclusive private sector partner to sustainable fishing programs being implemented all along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline.

Now markets in North America have a direct connection to Kumbatia's premium seafood line-up.

We have a wide range of groupers.....

Red and gray snappers, emperors and grunters.

As well as fillets available.