By Ayomide Otitoju
A new Review of African Inland Fisheries has called for urgent investment in restoring aquatic habitats and integrating fisheries into broader water resource management to safeguard the livelihoods of millions across the continent.
The report underscores the sector’s role beyond nutrition, highlighting its contributions to resilience, income diversification, and social cohesion. It estimates that Africa is home to around five million full- or part-time fishers, with more than 10 million people — half of them women — dependent on inland fisheries when subsistence fishing is included.
“Realising this potential is crucial to meeting the food and nutritional demands of Africa’s growing population,” the report stated. “However, this cannot be achieved without a harmonised and integrated approach to other activities that are necessary for development, from energy production to agriculture and industrial activities.”
While inland fisheries have shown resilience to climate change, their long-term sustainability depends on healthy aquatic ecosystems and strong water governance. The report urges targeted investments in restoring habitats within modified landscapes such as reservoirs, adopting nature-based solutions including reconnecting floodplains, reducing pollution, and rehabilitating riparian zones. These measures, it argues, would not only enhance fish production but also improve water quality and bolster flood protection.
Priority areas identified include degraded habitats such as the marshes of Lake Victoria and Senegal’s heavily polluted Falémé River. The report also points to opportunities for combining energy and fisheries development by restoring artificial floods downstream of hydroelectric dams, a practice piloted on Kenya’s Tana River and the Senegal River.
