By Obinna Uballa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has called for urgent investment in Africa’s inland fisheries, warning that without restoring aquatic habitats and integrating fisheries into wider water resource management, the livelihoods of millions across the continent could be at risk.
In its newly released Review of African Inland Fisheries, published on Saturday in Abidjan, the Bank emphasised that inland fisheries play a critical role beyond food security, providing resilience, income diversification, and social cohesion for African communities.
According to the report, Africa has about five million full- or part-time fishers, while more than 10 million people, half of them women, depend on inland fisheries when subsistence fishing is factored in.
“Realising this potential is crucial to meeting the food and nutritional demands of Africa’s growing population,” the Review 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.”
The report notes that while inland fisheries have shown resilience to climate change, their sustainability hinges on healthy ecosystems and sound water governance. It recommends targeted investment in restoring aquatic habitats in modified landscapes, such as reservoirs, alongside adopting nature-based solutions like reconnecting floodplains, reducing pollution, and rehabilitating riverbanks.
Such interventions, the Bank argued, would not only enhance fish production but also improve water quality and strengthen flood protection.
Among priority areas identified are Lake Victoria’s marshes and Senegal’s heavily polluted Falémé River. The Review also highlights opportunities to combine energy and fisheries development by restoring artificial floods downstream of hydroelectric dams, practices already trialled on Kenya’s Tana River and the Senegal River.
The publication builds on a joint appeal made in Dakar in September 2024 by the AfDB and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which urged greater recognition of inland fisheries’ economic and social contributions.
The AfDB maintained that integrating fisheries into broader water management policies would be key to boosting food and nutritional security on the continent.
