Samaki Salama: Small-scale Fisheries for Healthy Nutrition and Ecosystems

Samaki Salama: Securing Small-scale Fisheries in Kenya for Healthy Nutrition and Ecosystems

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a bundled intervention to address malnutrition and its intersections with nutrition security and fisheries sustainability in Kilifi, Kenya.

One in five young children globally suffer the consequences of stunted growth and development, while millions experience deficiencies in zinc, iron, iodine, vitamins A and B12, nutrients found bioavailable in fish foods. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) have the potential to generate wealth and augment fish consumption while being environmentally sustainable if appropriate systems are in place. However, those engaged in SSF are often marginalized by large industrial fisheries and other factors. Coastal communities in Kenya are dominated by SSF and are among the poorest and most malnourished globally. To address these critical issues, investigators aim to test the effectiveness of a bundled intervention to address malnutrition and its intersections with nutrition security and fisheries sustainability.

A matched intervention/control study will be conducted to examine the multifaceted Samaki Salama ("fish security" in Kiswahili) intervention in Kilifi, Kenya. The matched communities will be divided into three groups: (1) control; (2) multi-tiered nutrition social marketing intervention to fishers, mothers, and health workers; (3) multi-tiered nutrition social marketing intervention plus fisher gear modification and training.

A total of 8 communities will be matched based on based on location (rural), livelihoods and child nutritional status into control (n=4) and intervention (n=4) groups. Participants from 400 small-scale fisher households will be recruited and enrolled by Kenyan partners from Egerton University and Pwani University using the eligibility criteria. Group 1 (n=200 households) will be the control group. Group 2 (n=100 households) will receive a multi-tiered nutrition social marketing intervention focused on promoting dietary diversity and fish food consumption specifically among infants, young children and women of reproductive age. The nutrition intervention will target fishers, mother and health workers and involve monthly communications of key nutrition messages across a range of platforms including mobile phone messaging through WhatsApp or SMS, social media, radio, t-shirts, stickers, flyers, cooking classes, meetings of mother's groups and other convening opportunities. Group 3 (n=100 households) will receive a bundled intervention of the multi-tiered nutrition social marketing intervention plus fisher gear modification and training. Fishers from Group 3 will receive modified fishing gear (traps) designed specifically to improve harvest efficiency and promote sustainable fish populations. Training on modified gear use will be administered through local fishing cooperatives.

Investigators hypothesize that the combined impact of the targeted social marketing and fisher trap interventions will improve the diet, health and nutritional status of children as well increase fisheries yield and fisher's earnings in intervention communities. Specific hypotheses of primary and secondary outcomes are as follows:

Hypotheses: primary outcomes

• The children in the intervention groups (combined groups 2 and 3) with have increased height-for-age Z score (HAZ) by 0.20 compared to children in the control (group 1).
• The children in the intervention groups (combined groups 2 and 3) with have increased weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) by 0.10 compared to children in the control (group 1).
• The children in the intervention groups (combined groups 2 and 3) with have increased fish food intakes by 100 g compared to children in the control (group 1).
• Fishers in the group 3 will have significantly increased fisheries yields of mature fish compared to fishers in the control (group 1).

Hypotheses: secondary outcomes

• The children in the intervention groups (combined 2 and 3) with have increased dietary diversity by 1.2 compared to children in the control (group 1).
• The children in the intervention groups (combined 2 and 3) with have reduced diarrheal morbidity by 5 percentage points compared to children in the control (group 1).
• Fishers in group 3 will have significantly increased earnings compared to fishers in the control (group 1).

Inclusion Criteria:

• A household member works in small-scale fisheries (self-employed fishers)
• At least one child in the household aged 6-60 months
• At least one member of the household owns a mobile phone
• Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
• For children, informed assent and parental informed consent to participate in the study
• Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• No household member works in small-scale fisheries (self-employed fishers)
• No child in the household aged 6-60 months
• No members of the household own a mobile phone
• Declines to sign the informed consent
• Index child is severely malnourished
• Lives outside the study area
• Participation in another nutrition or fisheries intervention study within April 2021 - June 2022