Besides being a good source of immense nutrients that contribute significantly to human nutrition and health, fisheries already play an important social and economic role in Africa. The sector represents a key socioeconomic net through contributions to job creation, generating income, and foreign exchange earnings for several countries
[17][39]. The SSA fisheries sector employs about 12.3 million people of which half of the people are fishers, the other 42.4%, and 7.5% are processors and fish farm workers, respectively (
Table 2)
[43][64]. According to de Graaf and Garibaldi
[43][64] inland fisheries employ the majority (40.4%) of fishers and fish processors followed by marine artisanal, then marine industrial and aquaculture, which employs about 32.9%, 19.2%, and 7.5%, respectively (
Table 3). While most of the jobs in the fisheries sector are dominated by men, women constitute more than 25% of the people working in the fisheries sector, and the majority (69.2%) of those women work as processors in inland fisheries
[43][44][64,65]. In SSA, women are involved in post-harvest activities such as fish processing, fish trading, supplying fishing gear, and providing credit
[45][66]. For instance, in Msaka (Lake Malawi) and Kachulu (Lake Chilwa), women dominated as local brokers, 67% in both Msaka and Kachulu beaches, processors, 51% in Msaka beach and 81% in Kachulu beach, and as fish exporters, 100% and 83% in Msaka and Kachulu beaches, respectively
[46][67]. In addition, 80–90% of fish traders in Congo are women
[47][68]. This evidence demonstrates that the fisheries sector plays a significant role in improving livelihoods and empowering women, the poorest and most vulnerable group in developing countries
[47][68]. Women empowerment and improved livelihood strategies enhance fishing households’ incomes. A study by Kapembwa et al.
[48][69] confirmed that fishing and its related activities have a bearing on the levels of fishing households’ incomes of fishers in Lake Itezhi-Tezhi in Zambia in general. Incomes from fish sales increase the purchasing power resulting in a greater proportion of income being spent on food, enhancing food and nutrition security
[18][9]. Thus, incomes from fisheries and their related activities enhance both households’ economic access to food and food and nutrition security. Fisheries also provide a safety net for the poor when other economic opportunities are limited, for instance, Kupaza et al.
[49][70] indicated that more than 80% of fishers in Zimbabwe undertook fishing as a part-time or full-time activity due to high unemployment in the country.
Table 2. Distribution of employment in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Type of Work |
Number of Employees (Thousands) |
Share within the Sector (%) |
Fishers |
6147 |
50.1 |
Processors |
5202 |
42.4 |
Fish farm workers |
920 |
7.5 |
Table 3. Employment by subsector.
Subsector |
Number of Employees (Thousands) |
Share Subsector (%) |
Inland fisheries |
4958 |
40.4 |
Marine artisanal fisheries |
4041 |
32.9 |
Marine industrial fisheries |
2350 |
19.2 |
Aquaculture |
920 |
7.5 |
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
[50][71], fish is one of the most highly traded commodities globally placing aquatic environments (oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and wetlands, etc.) at the center of economic growth. In Africa, the fisheries sector contributes about 1.6% or USD 24 billion to the continent’s GDP
[43][64]. However, the contribution to national GDPs is highly variable across the region and within the region. For instance, in West Africa, fisheries contribute about 2% of the region’s total GDP but in Senegal alone (a west-African country) fisheries contribute about 13.5% to the GDP
[51][72], and the sector contributes about 2.7–6.6% in east African countries such as Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zanzibar
[43][64]. However, research indicates that the contribution of fisheries to GDP especially is undervalued due to the nature of the industry; most of the fish produce is consumed or traded locally and does not enter the formal economy and many fisheries operate in remote areas
[52][53][73,74]. For example, Belhabib et al.
[54][75] found that the contribution of small-scale fisheries to Guinea’s GDP was six times higher than the reported estimates. However, economic growth alone does not solve the problem of undernutrition and malnutrition
[55][76]; however, Gillespie et al.
[56][77] argues that a 10% increase in economic growth reduces the challenges of undernutrition and malnutrition by only 6%. Thus, the contribution of fisheries to SSA’s economic growth might help to alleviate the challenges of hunger and undernutrition in the region.
3. Opportunities and Challenges of Fish for Food and Nutrition Security in Sub-Sharan Africa
As a rich source of animal protein and valuable micronutrients, fish has great potential to address the high levels of undernutrition and malnutrition in SSA. The SSA region is characterized by high levels of undernutrition and malnutrition causing stunted growth in children
[24][45]. Nutrients found in fish can contribute towards the much-needed nutrients from animal source foods especially in children
[24][45]. However, despite being a nutrient treasure store, fish consumption in SSA is still low compared with other regions globally
[57][1][6,7]. Fish is more affordable than other terrestrial animal sources of protein such as red meat, making it more accessible to the poor
[58][15]. Therefore, increasing fish consumption and securing its supply might lessen undernutrition and malnutrition in the region, giving fishers and fish farmers opportunities to increase production. Furthermore, the observed and projected rapid population growth in SSA will fuel the increasing demand for fish food in the region. The projected increase in fish food demand
[11][5] represents important opportunities for fish sector entrepreneurs to take part in the region’s economic development.
Despite the immense potential of fisheries to improve the region’s food and nutrition security and sustainable development, the SSA fisheries sector is facing numerous challenges that hinder the ability of the sector to contribute to alleviating hunger and malnutrition. Research indicates that fish catches from wild sources have been declining due to several anthropogenic factors and climate change. Key anthropogenic constraints affecting capture fisheries production in SSA include, but are not limited to, overfishing, habitat destruction, poor governance, and unreported and unregulated fishing
[1][59][7,78]. For instance, Ababouch and Fipi
[51][72] postulate that about 50% of fish stocks in West Africa are overexploited, with unregulated fishing activities as one of the primary drivers of overexploitation. Overexploitation of fishery resources threatens not just the ecosystems but the socioeconomic condition, particularly the food security condition of the fishing communities. Overexploitation reduces the quantity and quality of available catch, often contributing to poverty and food insecurity
[60][79]. Therefore, to ensure the sustainability of fishery resources and food and nutrition security for fishing communities, fishing activities should be regulated. Unregulated fishing practices will have detrimental effects on the fishery resources and food security. For example, overfishing, poor governance, and unregulated fishing led to the decline in abundance of the commercially important Chambo (
Oreochromis spp) in Lake Malombe and Lake Malawi
[6][61][62][12,80,81]. Without undervaluing the severe impacts caused by anthropogenic factors on fisheries, climate change is widely acknowledged to be the greatest threat to fish production because it interacts with and amplifies the existing non-climatic stressors
[4][61][63][31,80,82]. Several researchers such as Ndebele-Murisa et al.
[64][83]; Potts et al.
[65][84]; Belhabib et al.
[66][85]; Cohen et al.
[7][13]; and Utete et al.
[67][86] agree that climate change is significantly contributing to declines in fish abundance in several African fisheries sources. Although African fish production is being affected by climate change, the magnitude of the effects of climate change on fish stocks are not homogenous across the region. For instance, fish production from African inland fisheries are more prone to climate change as they are more dependent on the external climatic drivers compared with marine fisheries
[13][37]. Changing climatic variables affects fish productivity through changing fish chemicals, geographical distribution, and biological processes such as spawning, metabolism, and reproduction
[8][65][33,84].
Declining fish productivity has severe effects on food and nutrition security, employment opportunities, and standards of living of fishing households who have limited alternative livelihoods and millions of people who are mainly dependent on fish as the main or only source of animal protein. The true burden of declining fish resources falls upon the poorest and vulnerable groups who will be losing access to an important source of cheap protein and valuable micronutrients
[68][87]. In addition, declining fish catches affect household income, thereby, affecting households’ economic access to safe and nutritious food of their preferences.