Fishing in Africa
Senior 3 · Geography
Fishing in Africa
Lesson 1 of 3
35 min
Let's begin
In 2023, fishing boats from Morocco landed about 1.43 million tonnes of fish, more than any other African country and over forty times Rwanda's catch from its lakes (World Bank, from FAO data). Most of Morocco's fish are small, silvery sardines caught off its Atlantic coast and canned in factories at Agadir and Safi. Why are some stretches of Africa's coast so rich in fish, while others yield far less?
Definition
Fishing: catching fish and other water animals, such as shrimps and lobsters, from the sea, lakes and rivers. Fishing ground: an area of sea or lake where fish are found in large numbers and are caught regularly. Marine fishing: fishing in the sea. Inland (freshwater) fishing: fishing in lakes, rivers and swamps. Fish farming (aquaculture): rearing fish in ponds, tanks or cages.
Figure 1 shows the four fishing countries in this lesson and the ocean currents off their coasts. Notice that the richest grounds, off Morocco, Angola and South Africa, lie beside cold currents: the Canary Current in the north-west and the Benguela Current in the south-west.
| Country | Capture production, 2023 (tonnes) |
|---|---|
| Morocco | 1,434,780 |
| Nigeria | 799,635 |
| Angola | 552,828 |
| South Africa | 523,519 |
| Rwanda (for comparison) | 33,680 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, from FAO data. Capture production counts wild fish caught at sea and in inland waters; farmed fish are counted separately.
Along the west coasts of northern and southern Africa, winds blow the warm surface water away from the shore. Cold water from the deep ocean rises to take its place. This upwelling brings up nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, from the sea floor. In the sunlit surface water these nutrients feed huge numbers of plankton, the tiny plants and animals that small fish eat, and small fish in turn feed larger fish (Figure 2). Where a wide, shallow continental shelf lies beside the upwelling, sunlight reaches far down and fish gather in great shoals that are easy to catch.
Definition
Upwelling: the rising of cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface, usually where winds push surface water away from a coast. Plankton: tiny plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) that drift in water and are the first food of fish. Continental shelf: the gently sloping, shallow sea bed around a continent, usually less than 200 m deep. Cold current: an ocean current flowing from cooler latitudes towards the equator, such as the Benguela Current.
| Ground | Main conditions | Main catches | Main ports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco (Atlantic coast) | Cold Canary Current and upwelling; long coastline; wide shelf in the south | Sardines, mackerel, anchovy, octopus | Agadir, Safi, Essaouira, Tan-Tan |
| South Africa (mainly the west and south coasts) | Cold Benguela Current and upwelling on the west coast; wide Agulhas Bank on the south coast | Hake, pilchards (sardines), anchovy, rock lobster, squid | Cape Town, Saldanha Bay, Hout Bay, Mossel Bay, Gqeberha |
| Angola (mainly the south coast) | Cold Benguela Current reaches the southern coast; upwelling | Sardinella, horse mackerel, tuna, shrimps | Namibe, Tombwa, Benguela, Lobito, Luanda |
| Nigeria | Warm Guinea Current, little upwelling; lagoons, creeks and mangroves of the Niger Delta; large lakes and rivers inland | Shrimps, croakers, bonga, catfish, tilapia | Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar; inland at Lake Chad and Kainji Lake |
Nigeria's catch is large because of its long coast, its lagoons and creeks, and its rivers and lakes, but much of it comes from small canoes, and the country still buys large amounts of frozen fish from abroad to feed its population. It also farms fish: about 258,830 tonnes of farmed fish in 2023, much of it catfish (World Bank, from FAO data).
Worked example
Worked example 1: comparing catches. In 2023 Morocco caught 1,434,780 t of fish and South Africa 523,519 t. How many times larger was Morocco's catch?
Worked example
Worked example 2: Rwanda's fish supply. In 2023 Rwanda caught 33,680 t of fish and farmed 7,502 t (World Bank, from FAO data). What percentage of its fish came from fish farming?
Warning
Cold currents do not "carry fish". The fish are there because upwelling brings nutrients that feed plankton. Explain the full chain: wind → surface water pushed offshore → cold water rises → nutrients → plankton → fish.
Tip
Learn the pairs: Canary → Morocco and Benguela → Angola, Namibia and South Africa are cold; Guinea → Nigeria and Agulhas → South Africa's east coast are warm.
Hakai Institute: a one-minute animation of how upwelling works. Watch where the cold water comes from and what it carries to the surface.
Practice
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
