At 3am on Saturday, Tupendane dhow was among 54 fishing vessels flagged off to participate in the 2025 Lamu Fishing Competition.
The competition is always held as an integral element of the broader annual Lamu Cultural Festival. It is organised by the County Government of Lamu Department of Fisheries, aiming to showcase the potential of the region’s marine waters, particularly deep-sea fishing, to locals and foreign investors.
Tupendane vessel, with four crew members namely Mwenye Hussein, 47, Abdulsalaam Bwana, 36, Asad Kupi, 26, and Ahmed Mwenye, 20, set their voyage to Mlango wa Shella, one of the renowned deep-sea fishing grounds in the Lamu archipelago.
Mwenye Hussein (left), 47, the captain of Tupendane dhow with his son, Ahmed Mwenye, 20, on November 23,2025. Their vessel caught the biggest fish during the Lamu fishing competition. The Yellowfin tuna fish weighed 90 kilograms.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation Media Group
All the flagged-off boats were supposed to be back at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Jetty by 1:30pm, failure to which they would be disqualified from the contest.
Tupendane dhow crew won this year’s Lamu Fishing Competition, bagging an award of Sh200,000, a trophy and an outboard engine. They caught the heaviest fish in this year’s competition, a yellow-finned tuna weighing 90 kilograms.
They also had the highest total landing catch of 254 kilograms, contributing to the total 2.6 tonnes of fish caught in the 2025 contest.
Crew leader and captain, Mr Hussein, said that determination, patience and resilience made them achieve such success. The crew ensured they carried all the required equipment even before they arrived at the KPA jetty for the vessel flag-off event.
The biggest fish that were by fishermen during the Lamu fishing competition on display at the KPA Jetty on November 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation Media Group
They equipped themselves with four fishing rods and reels, the right fishing lines, a GPS unit and had their dhow properly fueled. Mr Hussein said they were not deterred shortly after the vessels were flagged off and departed from the KPA jetty.
This was their second attempt in the competition after failing to win any prize in 2024 despite their participation. This time round, Mr Hussein said his four-member crew was focused on emerging number one since they had practiced adequately for the last two weeks.
Going to the Mlango wa Shella fishing ground was hectic as the Indian Ocean was too rough. They took two to three hours navigating through the rough seas accompanied by high and strong tidal waves.
“We reached our fishing location at around 5am. We didn’t waste time. We used the GPS machine to navigate and ensure our safety at sea. We learnt from our mistakes last year. We didn’t have a GPS machine by then. That messed us entirely,” said Mr Hussein.
Mr Hussein admitted to having done early marking of all the successful fishing spots and mapping the underwater environments to improve fishing success. They attached the four fishing lines to their respective reels before fixing them to the rods.
They ensured enough and suitable baits or lures were attached to the hooks before casting the lines into the promising spots they had identified, and waited patiently.
Around 7am, their expectation finally materialised. They felt a sudden pull on one of the lines as it started moving.
“The line became too tight as if our hook got snagged on a coral reef. But we knew this was a big fish we had caught. A struggle between us and the fish ensued. We took turns to pull it towards our fishing vessel. We took more than an hour fighting to pull the fish hard since it tried to swim away. We thought our line would be broken,” said Mr Hussein.
Lamu County Fisheries and Blue Economy Director Sharif Kamaludin and local fishermen holding one of the biggest fish caught during the Lamu fishing competition on November 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation Media Group
Mr Mwenye, the youngest crew member and son to Mr Hussein, said their priority was winning the 2025 fishing competition and that every time it crossed their minds, they kept pushing the fish while keeping constant tension on the line.
“We kept pumping the rod and reel and finally brought the fish closer. Fighting a large fish like the one we caught takes a significant amount of time. It took nearly an hour. We had to be patient with the intention to gradually tire the fish out and we succeeded. The fish was exhausted and that’s how we landed it on our boat,” said Mr Mwenye.
Mr Bwana praised their mentor and captain, Mr Hussein, for the training he took them through before the competition day.
“First, we thank Allah (God) for enabling us to become the winners of this year’s Lamu fishing competition. Secondly, my gratitude goes to our senior, Mr Hussein, whose experience and expertise has contributed a lot to this success,” said Mr Bwana.
On his part, Mr Kupi said unity and love played a key role in their win. Their vessel's name, Tupendane , is Swahili for 'Let’s love one another'.
“It is coincidental now that as a crew we’ve learnt to treat each other as brothers. Mr Hussein is the oldest and most experienced crew member. So we treat him as our father and mentor in the industry. We always listen to his advice before, during and after venturing into the sea. I attribute this win wholly to the existing unity and love,” said Mr Kupi.
The crew vowed to resume their fishing practice immediately so that they can feature in next year’s competition.
Mr Mohamed Hamza, whose boat is christened Ukiwaona Kama Watu , emerged second in the competition said his crew members made good effort. The crew caught a yellow-finned tuna weighing 87.2 kilograms.
Fishermen and county officials weigh a fish caught during the Lamu fishing competition on November 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation Media Group
Mr Ali Abdulrahman, a participant, said despite catching only 4.5 kilograms of fish, he believes things will be better next year.
“I have learnt a lot in this year’s fishing competition. We will rectify the mistakes that contributed to our failure to feature among top finalists. I am sure next year we shall emerge victorious,” said Mr Abdurrahman.
Speaking during the presentation of awards at Mkunguni Square, Governor Issa Timamy promised better awards next year.
“I am happy for the tremendous job our fishermen have done this year. You’ve caught bigger fish compared to last year. That indicates a significant improvement in our fishing sector in Lamu. Next year, we shall ensure the prizes given are better than this year now that it will be my last year of tenure as governor,” said Mr Timamy.
Mr Sharif Kamaludin, the Lamu County Director for Fisheries and Blue Economy, said that out of the 54 dhows that were flagged off to take part in the 2025 competition, 42 arrived on time while 12 came beyond the stipulated 1:30pm deadline and were therefore disqualified.
Lamu Fishing and Blue Economy Director Sharif Kamaludin inspects fish caught during the Lamu fishing competition at the KPA Jetty on November 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Kalume Kazungu | Nation Media Group
Mr Kamaludin expressed optimism about a growing fishing industry. He noted that within a period of less than five hours, participants in the competition managed to catch 2.6 tonnes of fish valued at Sh1.5 million.
During the 2024 Lamu Fishing Competition, the biggest and heaviest fish caught was a Blue Fish weighing only 36.68 kilograms. The number of vessels registered last year was 51, with only 38 managing to return on time with a total fish tonnage of only 1.5 tonnes, valued at less than Sh1 million.
“We’ve done training repeatedly and equipped most of our fishermen with modern tools, including outboard engines, modern fishing lines and rods among other advanced gear to ensure they embrace modern fishing. Our target is to see our fishermen move from subsistence to large-scale fishing for commercial purposes,” said Mr Kamaludin.
Participants in the annual Lamu Fishing Competition are always drawn from key fishing areas of the archipelago including Kiunga, Kiwayu, Mkokoni, Kizingitini, Faza, Pate, Mtangawanda, Kipungani, Matondoni, Amu and Shella.
Since the challenge was introduced in 2014, the largest and heaviest fish caught, whose county record has not been broken, is that of 2022, a yellowfin tuna weighing 90.6 kilograms.
