Social-ecological archetypes reveal distinct spatial behaviours and vulnerabilities among Kenya's small-scale fisheries: implications for coastal governance and adaptive management

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are complex socio-ecological systems shaped by interactions between coastal livelihoods, fishing practices and marine environments. In Kenya, SSF supply over 80% of Kenya’s marine fish production (~25,000MT annually) and support coastal livelihoods, food security and local economies, yet the limited evidence of their diverse social and fisheries behaviours limits their visibility and inclusion into blue economy decision-making. To understand these behaviours, we combined 735 household surveys of fishing practices with one year of high-resolution vessel movement data from 150 small-scale vessels operating from 28 landing sites along the 640km Kenyan coastline. Fishing units (gear and vessel type combinations) were used to identify and define fisheries archetypes as a typology to guide inclusive governance priorities. Fisheries were socially and operationally diverse, with clear county-level differences in fisher origin, experience, livelihood dependence, gear use and vessel activity. Vessel tracking generated 6,417 trips from 134 active vessels over 12 months, showing that fishing effort was highly concentrated in nearshore waters, with 62% of activity occurring within 1–3 km of the coastline. Spatial analysis identified 226 recurrent fishing hotspots, with the top 5% accounting for approximately 45% of total fishing effort. Maximum fishing time per grid cell (500m x 500m) was 3 hours, with an average of 2.3 vessels operating at each hotspot. Most tracked vessels repeatedly used specific fishing grounds, indicating strong site fidelity and the importance of local ecological knowledge. Kenya’s small-scale fisheries are not a homogeneous sector; combining household-level survey data with vessel tracking reveals distinct fishing-unit archetypes with different spatial behaviours, livelihood profiles and vulnerability to management interventions. The findings provide a scalable framework for integrated social-spatial monitoring to support co-management, activity-based effort monitoring and equitable marine spatial planning.