Fishing in Africa
Senior 3 · Geography
Fishing in Africa
Lesson 3 of 3
35 min
Let's begin
In August 2020, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) stopped all fishing on Lake Kivu for two months, as reported by Rwanda Broadcasting Agency. Catches of sambaza had fallen and their price in the markets had risen. Fishers lost two months of income so that the fish could breed and the stock could recover. Why would a government close a fishery that feeds and employs so many people, and what else threatens Africa's fisheries?
Definition
Fish stock: the total number or mass of a fish species in a fishing ground. Overfishing: catching fish faster than the stock can reproduce, so that it shrinks. Closed season: a period when fishing is banned to let fish breed. Quota: the largest catch that a country, company or boat is allowed to land in a year. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): the sea up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from a country's coast, where only that country may control fishing.
| Factor | How it helps | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cold currents and upwelling | Nutrients feed plankton, which feed large shoals | Canary Current off Morocco; Benguela off Angola and South Africa |
| Wide, shallow continental shelf | Sunlight reaches the bottom, plankton thrives and trawling is easy | The Agulhas Bank off South Africa |
| Indented coast and sheltered harbours | Safe places for ports and boats | Saldanha Bay, South Africa |
| Many lakes and rivers | Inland fishing grounds and water for fish farms | Lake Chad and Kainji Lake in Nigeria; Lake Kivu |
| Large market | Big populations and export markets buy the catch | Nigeria's large population; sardine exports from Morocco |
| Capital and technology | Trawlers, purse seiners, freezers, echo sounders and canneries | Industrial fleets of Cape Town and Agadir |
| Transport and cold storage | Fresh fish reach markets before they spoil | Refrigerated lorries from Cape Town |
| Government policy and research | Training, loans, licences, scientific stock surveys | Fisheries research institutes in Morocco and South Africa |
| Problem | Effect | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Overfishing | Stocks shrink; in the 1960s and 1970s the pilchard catch off south-western Africa collapsed after heavy fishing | Quotas, closed seasons, minimum mesh sizes, banning the catch of young fish |
| Illegal fishing by foreign trawlers | Lost fish and income for local fishers, especially off West Africa | Patrol boats, satellite tracking, licensing, regional cooperation |
| Pollution | Oil spills in the Niger Delta, sewage and plastic kill fish and spoil breeding grounds | Pollution laws, clean-up, treating waste before it enters the water |
| Weeds and introduced species | Water hyacinth blocks boats on Lake Victoria; the introduced Nile perch ate many native fish there | Removing weeds by machine and by weevils; care before introducing new species |
| Poor preservation and storage | Fish spoil before they reach market | Ice plants, cold rooms, improved smoking ovens and drying racks |
| Poor transport and remote landing sites | High costs; fish sold cheaply on the spot | Roads to landing sites, refrigerated lorries |
| Lack of capital and simple gear | Small catches, low incomes | Cooperatives, loans, training in modern methods |
| Climate change and natural variation | Warmer water can drive shoals away or reduce upwelling | Research, flexible quotas, more fish farming |
Wild fish stocks cannot grow for ever, so the future of Africa's fish supply lies partly in fish farming. Figure 4 shows how differently four countries obtain their fish. Egypt, with fish farms in the Nile Delta, now farms far more fish than it catches; Nigeria farms large amounts of catfish; Morocco and South Africa still depend almost entirely on their rich seas. In Rwanda, fish farming produced 7,502 t in 2023 (World Bank, from FAO data), in ponds and in cages on lakes.
Definition
Aquaculture: the farming of fish and other water animals and plants in ponds, tanks or cages. Fish cage: a floating net enclosure in a lake or the sea in which fish are fed until they are big enough to sell. Sustainable fishing: catching no more fish than the stock can replace, so that the fishery lasts.
Worked example
Worked example 1: reading Figure 4. What percentage of Egypt's total fish production in 2023 came from fish farming?
Worked example
Worked example 2: why a closed season can pay (illustrative figures). A lake yields 300 t of fish a year. Scientists expect that if fishing stops for two months each year, the yearly catch will rise to 360 t after three years. What is the percentage increase?
Warning
Fish farming is not problem-free. Ponds and cages can pollute water with waste and uneaten feed, spread disease to wild fish, and need costly feed. A balanced answer names these problems as well as the benefits.
Tip
For a "problems and solutions" question, use a two-column plan: write the problem with its effect in the first column and the matching solution in the second, and add a named place to each row, as in the table above.
Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, August 2020: RAB suspends fishing on Lake Kivu for two months so that fish stocks can recover. Note the reason given and how the closure affects fishers and prices.
Practice
Further reading
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
