Senior Research Scientist Ocean & Coastal Fisheries Research Fisheries Science & Food Security Marine Fisheries • Stock Assessments • Ecosystem Approach • Nutrition Security Location Mombasa Years of Experience 2012-Present (14 years at KMFRI) Research Interests Food security and nutrition; Fisheries stock assessments; Socio-ecological surveys; Fish nutrient profiles; Fish and fish products quality and safety; Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries | Research Focus: Interdisciplinary fisheries and aquatic sciences research with emphasis on food security and nutrition, fisheries stock assessments, socio-ecological surveys, and the ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Dr. Johnstone Omukoto Omuhaya has over 20 years of experience in interdisciplinary fisheries and aquatic sciences research. This includes 14 years as a Research Scientist at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Mombasa (2012-now); 3 years as a Fisheries Officer at the Ministry of Fisheries Development, Kenya (2009-2012); and 3 years as a Research Assistant at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Mombasa, Kenya (2006-2009). Academically, he holds a PhD in Environmental Science from Lancaster University, United Kingdom, a Masters (Aquatic resources management) and BSc (Fisheries science) from Moi University Eldoret, Kenya. He has worked on various institutional research projects, task teams, individual small-grant projects and collaborated on national and regional research projects. For example, he worked on Kenya Coastal Development Programme (KCDP) during 2012-2016; an ESPA funded Participatory modeling of wellbeing tradeoffs in coastal Kenya (P-Mowtick) project (2009-2013); ESPA research "Sustainable Poverty Alleviation from Coastal Ecosystem Services (SPACES)" during 2014-2017; a WIOMSA-MASMA Project on "A socio-ecological assessment of fisheries in three estuarine systems of the SW Indian Ocean -- identifying essential links for improved governance (ESTUARIZE-WIO)"-2018-2020; and as a participating research scientist on two Billfish Research Projects in the WIO region: 1. WIOMSA-MASMA funded project "Billfish Interactions, Livelihoods, and Linkages for FISHeries sustainability in the Western Indian Ocean (BILLFISH - WIO)"; and 2. PEW funded project "Strengthening data collection and capacity building for effective conservation and management of billfish fisheries in the Western Indian Ocean region". He has been a lead author on 3 peer-reviewed publications, 1 Master's thesis, 1 PhD thesis and co-authored 21 peer-reviewed publications; Has made scientific disseminations in various conferences, symposia, and workshops. He has supervised BSc students attached at the KMFRI. Worked as a part-time lecturer at the Kenyatta University, Mombasa campus where he taught Coastal Fisheries unit to 3rd year students. Research & Administrative Responsibility
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Awards and Honours A European Research Council (ERC) Lancaster University PhD Grant (2020-2024) Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) Marine Research Grant (MARG-1) – 2016 LVEMP Research Grant (Masters) – 2003 WIOMSA Travel Grants – Attended the 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th WIOMSA Scientific Symposiums Selected Publications J.P.W. Robinson, L. O'Meara, K.J. Fiorella, K.A. Byrd, M. Kjellevold, R.S. Ansong, C.M. Aura, N. Mwirigi, A. Allegretti, R. Karkarey, T.A.C. Lamont, E. Maire, S.M. Martin, J.O. Omukoto, S. Standen, J.A. Gephart, N.A.J. Graham, S.H. Thilsted, & C.C. Hicks, (2025). Dried fish provide widespread access to critical nutrients across Africa. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (39) e2426844122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426844122 Allegretti, A., Omukoto, J.O. & Hicks, C.C. (2025). Food, power and agency: revealing local post-harvest fisheries practices to improve food access from small-scale fisheries in coastal Kenya. Maritime Studies 24, 9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-025-00402-7 Omukoto Omuhaya, J. (2024). 'Disentangling the determinants of food and nutrition security from tropical small-scale fisheries: Tackling hidden hunger using forgotten food', PhD, Lancaster University. https://doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/thesis/2447 Omukoto JO, Graham NAJ, Hicks CC. (2024). Fish markets facilitate nutrition security in coastal Kenya: empirical evidence for policy leveraging. Marine Policy 164 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106179 Omukoto, J.O., Graham, N.A. & Hicks, C.C. (2024). Fish contributions toward nutritional security in Kenya. Food Security. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-024-01459-8 Tuda, P., Imam, R., Kiilu, B., Omukoto, J. (2023). Kenya Case Study One. In: Wolff, M., Ferse, S.C., Govan, H. (eds) Challenges in Tropical Coastal Zone Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17879-5_2 James PW Robinson, David J Mills, Godfred Ameyaw Asiedu, Kendra Byrd, Maria del Mar Mancha Cisneros, Philippa J Cohen, Kathryn J Fiorella, Nicholas AJ Graham, M Aaron MacNeil, Eva Maire, Emmanuel K Mbaru, Gianluigi Nico, Johnstone O Omukoto, Fiona Simmance, Christina C Hicks. (2022). Small pelagic fish supply abundant and affordable micronutrients to low- and middle-income countries. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00643-3 Pascal Thoya, Margaret A. Owuor, Miriam von Thenen, Johnstone O. Omukoto (2022). Variations in community perceptions of ecosystem services within the Tana River estuary, Kenya: Implications for ocean governance. WIO Journal of Marine Science Special Issue 1 / 2022 47-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.si2022.1.4 Camille Mellin, Christina C. Hicks, Damien A. Fordham, Christopher D. Golden, Marian Kjellevold, M. Aaron MacNeil, Eva Maire, Sangeeta Mangubhai, David Mouillot, Kirsty L. Nash, Johnstone O. Omukoto, James P. W. Robinson, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Jessica Zamborain-Mason, Graham J. Edgar, Nicholas A. J. Graham. Safeguarding nutrients from coral reefs under climate change. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01878-w Links |
