Inland Fisheries

Throughout Africa, there is the occurrence extensive inland waters from both natural and artificial rivers, lakes, streams and ponds, swamps, mangroves, salt marshes, coastal lagoons to reservoirs.

Its extensive inland waters is estimated to harbour over 3,000 fish species that form a major source of protein for a large part of the continents population. Fish, fishing and fisheries are an integral part of the culture and economy of many peoples and countries in Africa, and in contrast to marine fisheries, the catch from inland fisheries are almost entirely consumed on the continent.

The freshwater systems have very high species diversity with the highest number of freshwater fish species in the Congo Basin and Lake Tanganyika, with over 700 species in each.  In 2006, reported global inland water catches exceeded 10 million tonnes for the first time. Africa accounted for two-thirds of total global inland capture production.

Inland fisheries are often small scale and spread over large areas. Fish may be consumed locally or exported to other, often neighbouring countries. This regional trade of the catch includes bartering or local consumption and is not always registered as part of the formal economy of a region, making estimates of catches often lower than the reality.  Inland fisheries provide employment and income for several million people. A recent estimate of employment and income for seven major river basins found that in West and Central Africa alone fisheries provides livelihoods to more than 227,000 full-time fishers and yields an annual catch of about 570,000 tons with a first-sale value of $295 million, while in the whole of Africa over 10 million people are supported by fisheries. 

There is also an urgent need for better data on inland fisheries that could be interpreted in both economic and ecological terms. Major sources of error in these officially reported statistics are deliberate misreporting, lack of attention to small-scale fishing activities, lack of status, capacity or training of local fishery officers as well as a reluctance to report catches because this is linked, in most countries, to license fees or other forms of taxation. The benefits this sector could provide are now threatened by ineffective fisheries governance.

Inland fisheries are seen as a valuable and an integral component of the lives of many people throughout Africa, and have an important contribution to make to sustainable development, including economic growth and poverty reduction. The Partnership for African fisheries programme will work to get a clear and agreed set of messages on the potential value that fisheries could make to African economies, and to explore innovative ways of achieving this. They will help formulate regional strategies for fishery reform that will be the cornerstone for turning these commitments into reality. Ultimately, PAF will aim to achieve responsive reforms in fisheries governance and trade for the enduring beneficial welfare of African economies, societies and environment.

The following sources were used to compile this the FAO website www.FAO.org and the AfDB Fisheries Portfolio Review, 2008 NFDS.