From Kuruwitu Conservation & Welfare Association (http://kuruwitu.org/about/why/ accessed 2/10/2015):

" In 2003, the fishermen of Kuruwitu, in Vipingo, realized that the number and size of the fish they were catching was making their way of life unviable.  A poor area anyway, but the subsistence living was getting critically lean.  While general population increase was a factor at Vipingo, it was made worse by unscrupulous aquarium fishing which was seriously depleteing the fish stocks and the all important fish nurseries of the reef.

Brought together, the fishermen and some home owners in the area, realized they could do something to stop their livelihoods being dwindling away to nothing.  They joined together and started the Kuruwitu Conservation and Welfare Association (KCWA).

One of the key goals of the KCWA was to set up a ‘no-take zone’ to allow the marine eco-system to recover from over-fishing and years of damage to the coral.  Subsequently, an area of 30 hectares was, and is, closed off for this purpose.  While reluctant to agree to the closure at first, the community has seen a huge improvement in catch and size of catch since the area has been closed and is now fully supportive of the marine closure.

The local fishing community of Kuruwitu has seen not only an improvement in catches outside of the closed area but, critically, it has started to attract visitors to the area who want to see the regenerated and regenerating reef eco system.  Snorkelling at Kuruwitu is now popular with word of mouth spreading about how good the ‘goggling’ is at Kuruwitu.  With the assistance of AFEW and WFF, the KCWA was able to buy a glass bottom boat to take visitors out to see the coral and fish within the reef.  A bigger motor boat and dhow were also bought for KCWA to allow the fishermen to take visitors out for whale and dolphin watching beyond the reef (the annual humpback whale migration passes by Kuruwitu in October / November), but also to enable them to fish outside of the reef.  This has meant the fishermen can catch the larger sea fish and leave the shoreline reef area unfished.

The no-take zone or closed marine area has now been protected and un-fished for over six years and the biomass of the fish in the area has increased dramatically by over 5 times since the closure started.

Luckily, Kuruwitu has been the subject of scientific marine research for nearly 20 years by WCS which has provided fantastic data showing the recovery of the area since the KCWA started.  The research also shows the reduction of urchins within the closed off area.  Urchins are predated on by fish, and so the reduction of urchins is consistent with the increase in fish stocks in the closed off marine area."