ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, September 27, 2025 — The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released its latest Review of African Inland Fisheries, urging urgent investment to restore aquatic habitats and integrate fisheries into broader water resource management to safeguard livelihoods for millions across the continent.
The report underscores that Africa has 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 Review notes. “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.”
Inland Fisheries: Beyond Nutrition
The AfDB review stresses that inland fisheries contribute not only to nutrition, but also to resilience, income diversification, and social cohesion. While these ecosystems have shown natural resilience to climate change, their sustainability depends on healthy aquatic systems and sound water governance.
Protecting Critical Habitats
The report calls for urgent action to protect degraded ecosystems, citing:
Lake Victoria’s marshes Senegal’s heavily polluted Falémé River
Recommended interventions include:
Restoring habitats in modified landscapes such as reservoirs Adopting nature-based solutions like reconnecting floodplains Reducing pollution and rehabilitating riparian zones Combining energy and fisheries development by restoring artificial floods downstream of hydroelectric dams — as attempted on Kenya’s Tana River and the Senegal River
Such measures would not only enhance fish production, but also improve water quality and provide flood protection.
Building on Dakar Appeal
The publication builds on a joint appeal made in Dakar in September 2024 by the African Development Bank Group and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which urged greater recognition of inland fisheries’ economic and social contributions.
The full Review can be accessed here.
Source & Contact
Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Distributed by: APO Group Media Contact: Alexis Adélé, Communications & External Relations, AfDB – media@afdb.org
