Forced gifts and moral claims: entitlement, fear, and the moral economy of fish in coastal Kenya

In Gasi, a Kenyan coastal village, fish gifting has shifted from an expression of generosity to a morally charged response to requests for rightful shares. As fish stocks decline due to habitat degradation and overfishing, gifting practices have morphed into pressured transactions, shaping an emerging ‘forced gift’ economy. Once grounded in reciprocity and religious devotion, gifting now reveals mounting tensions between villagers, who see themselves as morally entitled to fish, and fishers – both local and migrant – who struggle to meet escalating demands. For villagers, fish gifts are critical for sustenance and a symbolic shield against economic hardship. Yet scarcity has deepened anxieties and ambivalence within these exchanges. Fishers, caught between survival and social obligation, navigate complex expectations that reshape communal roles and strain social bonds. Pressure is sharpened by constant moral scrutiny, compelling fishers to give not from goodwill, but fear – of divine displeasure, gossip, shame, curses, violence, or accusations of witchcraft. Through an ethnographic lens, this article engages classic and contemporary theories of gifting and taking to examine how demands for fish gifts – whether fulfilled generously or under duress – reflect and intensify social rifts, illuminating the resilience and fragility within Gasi's evolving moral economy.