Status, Challenges, and Opportunities for Aquatic Animal Health Management in Kenyan Fish Farming: A Review

Aquaculture increasingly contributes to Kenya’s food security, nutrition and livelihoods as capture fisheries decline, as has been observed globally. Rapid expansion and intensification of fish farming have raised aquatic animal disease risks, making aquatic animal health (AAH) management critical to the sector sustainability. This review synthesizes the status, main challenges, and strategic opportunities for AAH in Kenyan aquaculture, focusing on policy and regulatory frameworks, institutional capacity, diagnostics and surveillance, and on-farm management practices. Kenya has foundational governance elements fisheries and veterinary legislation, devolved institutions, and growing research and extension but key gaps remain: absence of a dedicated national AAH policy, weak coordination between fisheries and veterinary services, limited diagnostic and laboratory capacity, inadequate routine surveillance and reporting, low farmer awareness and biosecurity uptake, and informal live-fish movements. The spread of transboundary pathogens, notably Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV), highlights vulnerability given Nile tilapia’s dominance and current response constraints. Based on peer-reviewed literature, national reports and policy documents, we recommend developing a stand-alone national AAH policy to clarify roles and coordination; investing in a tiered diagnostic and surveillance network anchored by a national reference laboratory; scaling farmer-focused extension on biosecurity and disease recognition; strengthening fish movement controls and certification; and promoting public–private partnerships for diagnostics, insurance and rapid response. Implementing these measures will reduce disease risks, protect farmer livelihoods and investments, enhance value-chain resilience, and support sustainable growth of Kenya’s aquaculture sector.