Political Economy and Power Dynamics of Cage Aquaculture in Lake Victoria, Kenya

This study critically examines the political economy and power dynamics of stakeholders in cage aquaculture in Lake Victoria, Kenya, with a particular focus on how emerging governance structures and power asymmetries are reshaping resource access and affecting the livelihoods of local communities. Drawing on a comprehensive scoping review of literature published between 2000 and 2025, the analysis investigates how the growth of capital-intensive cage farming, driven by private investment, international donor support, and national policy priorities, has transformed the governance of aquatic commons. While cage aquaculture is widely promoted as a strategy to improve food security and economic development, the study demonstrates that its expansion has created socio-political tensions, including the displacement of artisanal fishers, ecological degradation, and regulatory fragmentation. By incorporating theoretical frameworks from political ecology and agrarian political economy, this study explains how discursive and structural forms of power influence outcomes in the cage aquaculture sector. The findings reveal instances of elite capture, gendered exclusion, and institutional co-optation, particularly within Beach Management Units, originally intended to promote participatory fisheries governance. Comparative insights from Uganda and Tanzania suggest alternative governance approaches, such as spatial zoning and community benefit-sharing, which could reduce conflict and promote fairness. The study concludes that cage aquaculture in Kenya is not merely a technical innovation but a profoundly political process. Effective reform, including sustainable management models, must prioritize spatial justice, institutional transparency, and the legal empowerment of small-scale fishers to ensure that aquaculture supports a just, sustainable, and inclusive development within Kenya's blue economy framework.