By Helen Zulu –

THE fisheries industry contributes about one per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with more than 300,000 fishers, fish farmers and processors.
While this is a small percentage, fisheries are crucial to Zambia’s rural economy as a source of income and proteins.
The current national demand for fish is estimated at 120,000 tonnes per annum but only about 70,000 tonnes is supplied leaving a deficit of 50,000 tonnes which is supplied through imports.
Fish, consumed as food and a source of protein, is an important part of many Zambians’ livelihood.
Zambia has nine major fisheries in Kariba, Tanganyika, Itezhi-tezhi, Bangweulu, Lake Mweru, Mweru-wantipa, Kafue River, Zambezi River and Lukanga.
In 2007 the fisheries sub-sector accounted for one per cent of Zambia’s GDP, or US$109 million.
The fishing sub-sector has the potential to contribute much moreto Zambia’s economic development.
Fish production is important to the national economy and contributes significantly to employment, income and food production.
The importance of fish in Zambian household food expenditure increases in proportion with increasing levels of poverty.
Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) says the Government should increase human and financial resources to the department of fisheries to enhance the sector’s contribution.
PMRC executive director Bernadette Deka says this will enable the department to effectively carry out the implementation of the fish ban as well as their other core activities.
Ms Deka notes that the fisheries sector in Zambia faces various administrative challenges which include inadequate funding and inadequate staffing.
She says government should also actively engage with traditional leaders in the management of fisheries located in rural areas and around chiefdoms.
Ms Deka says traditional leaders played an important role in community sensitisation and behavioural change of people in rural areas. “We would like to urge Government to set up a division within the Department of Fisheries that will be tasked with the enforcement of the law pertaining to Fisheries. This division will ensure effective enforcement to Fisheries,” she said
Zambia has the potential for further development of aquaculture.
Zambia is among the major aquaculture producers of Sub-Saharan Africa with estimated production exceeding 8 500 tonnes per year year. Various fish farming practices are used and culture is carried out on small-scale, smallholder and commercial level.
A variety of species are farmed, including breams, the common carp, nile tilapia and crayfish.
African Development Bank (AfDB) Zambia senior agriculturist Lewis Bangwe says high cost of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), inconsistent policies and weak extension across the fish value chain in the country is hampering the growth of the fisheries sector.
Mr Bangwe says inadequate public sector investment; weak infrastructure hinder the development of the fisheries industry in the country.
The fisheries industry has a lot of potential if factors like inadequate private sector investment in production and value as well Nas weak value chain development such breeding, fingerings, fish feed,
disease control among others are addressed.
“More institutional innovations, value chain and market development that enhance private sector investments were for country to up
production of fish in the country,” Mr Bangwe said.
He, however, says the bank has confidence in some of the policies and legal frameworks for enhanced investment in the fisheries sector.
Mr Bangwe points out the national vision 2030, national agricultural policy 2004-2015, revised Six National Development Plan (SNDP),
Fisheries Amendment Act of 2007 and the National Aquaculture Strategy.
Others were the Environmental Policy, Biodiversity and International Conventions and Lake Tanganyika Convention as some of the interventions to grow the sector.
The country needs a three -pronged strategy to significantly increase fisheries output for the local and international markets.
This would involve improving management of natural capture fisheries, increasing investments in expansion of aquaculture and improving value addition, processing and marketing activities in the country.
The fisheries industry can become a major income earner for many people if tangible policies can be developed that are focused on community-based resource management, as well as fishing supporting infrastructure such as landing sites, markets and laboratories.
Agriculture and Livestock minister Given Lubinda says there is need for government to provide technical back-up to encourage people to venture into fish farming.
Mr Lubinda proposes that research on specific type of fish to be grown in different ecological zones in the country is cardinal.
He says the government needs to provide extension services to fish farmers as well as opening up dams to plant fish in view of the stock shortfall which is being experienced.
There’s also need to intensify campaign for safe fishing methods that will encourage sustainable fishing practices.
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) urges government to regulate the importation of fish from other countries to promote the
growth of the local sector.
ZNFU President Dr Evelyn Nguleka says Government should regulate fish importation in order to safeguard the development of the fisheries
sector in Zambia as well as assure consumers of supply of fresh
produce on the market.
Dr Nguleka observes that the fisheries sector in Zambia was currently under serious threat due to unsustainable fishing practices such as fish poisoning as well as weak regulatory framework which had seen a number of unlicensed players in major fishing areas.
She says some water bodies such as Luapula River have their fish stocks depleted due to these unsustainable fishing practices coupled with weak regulatory framework under Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
“We would like to urge government to regulate the importation of fish from other countries in order to promote the growth of the fisheries sector.
“ZNFU observes that the fisheries sector in Zambia is currently under serious threat due to unsustainable fishing practices such as fish poisoning as well as weak regulatory framework which has seen a number of unlicensed players in major fishing areas,” Dr Nguleka says.
She says government should also implement fish audits in major lakes and rivers and enhance monitoring activities to minimise overfishing
and pollution.
The Government should strengthen regulatory framework to reduce the number of unlicensed operators and promote training of extension
officers in fish farming and aquaculture to increase available resource pool.
“In order to grow the fisheries sector, Government should implement a tailor-made fish ban according to the levels of available fish stocks
in a particular water body as opposed to a blanket ban,” she added.
As government endeavours to promote fish farming, it should go a step further to raise the scale of operations by attracting corporate
investment into the sector as a way of realizing full potential.
Citizens’ especially young people should take the deficit in fish production as a business opportunity and invest in the sector.
Fish farming can generate high interest and excitement. It has great potential to produce high quality protein in relatively short time periods and in small areas.
Fish farming is one way that resource poor farmers throughout the world can provide protein that is often lacking in the family diet and too expensive to purchase.
Going by the precariousness of the food security situation in many parts of the country, fish farming would definitely help in improving animal protein supply, especially among the vulnerable in rural areas.