The Fishery and Aquaculture sector profiles available for this country are: Zambia - National Aquaculture Sector Overview (from NASO) NASO National Aquaculture Sector Overview - provides a general overview of the aquaculture and culture based fisheries aspects at national level for each FAO member country....more Zambia - National Aquaculture Legislation Overview (from NALO) NALO National Aquaculture Legislation Overview - is a series of national overviews of laws and regulations that are relevant to aquaculture....more Zambia - Information on fisheries management Information on fisheries management - is a complement to the National Fishery Sector Overview and provide a description of established fisheries management frameworks for each country featured, including overall strategies, policy and legal matters, management methods and measures. Zambia - National Fishery Sector Overview (from NFSO) NFSO National Fishery Sector Overview - provides a comprehensive overview of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors for each country featured, including economic and demographic information, structure of the industry, development prospects, sector management and status and trends....more GENERAL ECONOMIC DATA - December 2006
2. Fisheries Data
3. Fishery Sector Structure Overall fishery sector While agriculture is the most important source of livelihood, Zambia has 15 million hectares of water in the form of rivers, lakes and swamps, which provide the basis for extensive freshwater fisheries. Everyone in Zambia, irrespective of socio-economic status, enjoys fish. However, demand for domestic fish for consumption still outstrips production. Government is aware of the direct benefits of fish as a source of food of high nutritional value, especially for vulnerable groups, so the sector is not underrated. The sector, because of its mostly rural setting, continues to contribute significantly to rural development in terms of employment and income generation and reducing poverty. It is estimated that the sector supports more than 300 000 people deriving their livelihood directly as fishers and fish farmers, or indirectly as traders, processors and other service providers. The precariousness of the food security situation in many parts of Zambia requires action to improve animal protein supply. Government efforts to increase fish production and enhance nutrition have targeted popularizing aquaculture and collective management of capture fisheries for sustainable resource utilization. Government assistance has helped to popularize pond culture techniques and has contributed significantly to the creation of an institutional and technological infrastructure in support of the growth of the industry. Liberal government policies have seen the private sector lead in the introduction of new production technologies and systems such as freshwater floating cages and production of ornamental fish in tanks. However, the future of the sector now depends on raising the scale of operations. This will require attracting corporate investments in the sector to help realize the country’s fisheries and aquaculture potential, by transforming the agricultural output mix, thus supporting the country’s food needs and contributing significantly to growth of exports by removing socio-economic and institutional constraints facing the industry. Inland subsector Fishing in Zambia is carried out by two distinct groups: industrial operators and traditional or artisanal fishers. The industrial operators are found mainly on lakes Kariba and Tanganyika, where they operate large fishing vessels exploiting the pelagics. The artisanal fisheries, with more than 25 000 fishers, still dominate in terms of production output and in terms of labour. The bulk of fish is distributed by private and individual traders, of which a large number are women. Fisheries from a rural development point of view is an important open employment sector. 4. Catch Profile The industrial fishery on lakes Kariba and Tanganyika exploits mostly the Clupeids (Sardines) Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae. Lake Kariba catches are about 98 percent L. miodon, with a small by-catch of Tilapia, Momyrus, Synodontis, Serranochromis, Hydrocyon and other Characid species. The fishery on Lake Tanganyika is shifting from the Clupeids to Lates species (Lates angustifrons, L. microlepis and L. mariae) and Luciolates spp. Representatives of Tilapia, Serranochromis and other cichlids are common in all catches. The main species of commercial value in the various Zambian markets (listed in order of relative abundance in terms of catch and market value) are Bangweulu (Citharinidae, Schilbe sp., Bagridae, Hydrocyon); Itezhi-tezhi (Claridae, Momyrids, Schlbeidae. other Characids); Kafue (Claridae, Schilbe sp.); Lukanga (Citharinidae, Momyridae, Synodontis sp.); Lusiwashi (Other Cichlids); Mweru-Luapula (Bagridae, Momyridae, Hydrocyon); and Upper Zambezi (Schilbe, Claridae, Hydrocyon, Momyridae, Synodontis sp.). 5. Fishery Areas Zambia has 15 million hectares of water in form of rivers, lakes and swamps. The fisheries of Zambia are classified into major and minor fisheries (which include fisheries of small water bodies). There are 11 main fisheries; four belong to the Congo River basin and seven to the Zambezi River basin. The fisheries in the Congo basin include Bangweulu, Mweru-Luapula, Mweru Wantipa and Tanganyika. Kafue, Kariba, Lukanga, Upper Zambezi, Lower Zambezi, Itezhi-tezhi and Lusiwashi belong to the Zambezi basin. In 2000, the Congo basin fisheries accounted for 43 percent of annual production. 6. Fishing Production Means Industrial fishing activities are limited to Lake Tanganyika and Kariba, and are associated with production of kapenta. In the years 1999 -2004, the annual commercial fish production was about 70000 t. About 30 000 artisanal fishers account for 85 percent of catches, while the less than 100 industrial producers on Lakes Tanganyika and Kariba account for 15 percent of production. The long distance between catching and consumption areas and limited cold storage and transport facilities means that 65 percent of production is dried, most of which is kapenta, smoked or simply sun-dried, and rarely salted breams. 7. Main Resources The major basins in Zambia are the Zambezi, Lake Mweru Wantipa catchment, Luapula and Lake Tanganyika. The Luapula Basin consists of the Chambeshi river, Bangweulu lakes and swamps complex, Luapula river and Lake Mweru. The Zambezi basin is the largest, comprising Luangwa river, Lukanga swamps, Kafue river, Upper Zambezi, Lake Kariba and Lower Zambezi. The Lake Tanganyika basin is the smallest, with fish fauna of Nilotic affinities. The Lake Mweru Wantipa catchment could be considered as stand alone as it is an internal drainage system with no outlet. The Bangweulu lakes and swamps complex is made up of six principal lakes and vast fringing papyrus flood plain swamps, and is home to 87 recorded species of fish. Of these, 33 are of commercial importance. The fishery is dominated by catches of the Clupeid Angraulicypris spp., Cichlids and Characids (most notably Alestes macropthalmus). Lake Itezhi-Tezhi and the Kafue flood plains fish stocks are heavily exploited in the inshore lake areas, with the Characid Brycinuslateralis and the Schilbeid Schilbe mystus most abundant in the catches. The Kafue flood plain and its extension of the Lukanga swamps is a Cichlid Tilapia spp. fishery, although of late the non-indigenous species Oreochromisniloticus has infested the flood plain, having been introduced inadvertently by the sugar plantation fish farm. The consequences of this introduction still need to be assessed. Kariba fishery has two types of fishery: an artisanal gillnet fishery based on exploitation of fish species originally of the Zambezi River before formation of the lacustrine environment; and a commercial fishery based on the introduced Clupeid (kapenta). Lake Mweru-Luapula was once famous for its highly valued Cyprinid Labeo altivelis (mpumbu) which is now rare due to overfishing and poor fishing practices. The poor performance of the bream fishery led to a fishery based on exploitation of the Clupeid Microthrissa moeruensis (chisense), which is now the major resource. Lake Mweru Wantipa has a collapsed bream fishery due to intensive fishing using beach seines, and as a result there is significant catch of juvenile Cichlids (breams) causing further decrease in the bream stocks. Synodontis spp. are now providing better catches. The department carried out a restocking exercise with bream to re-establish the bream fishery. Lake Tanganyika has over 252 known species, of which 72 percent are endemic to the lake. Of all species present, 90 percent belong to the Cichlid family and 99 percent of the cichlids are endemic to Lake Tanganyika. The lake supports an intensive artisanal inshore fishery and also a commercial fishery comprising 28 purse seines exploiting pelagic species of kapenta (Clupeids), Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae, and a Latid, Luciolates starppersii (bukabuka). Upper Zambezi consists of the Barotse Flood Plains, with an area of 700 km². Cichlids are the principal stocks and resources exploited. 8. Management Applied to Main Fisheries The Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is mandated through the Fisheries Act, Cap 200 of the Laws of Zambia, to manage the fisheries resources of the country. In order to ensure the sustainable utilization of the fisheries resources in line with the provisions of the Act, the following control measures are employed:
Zambian fisheries are dominated by artisanal fishers whose fishing operations are predominantly gillnetting using craft made of planks or fibreglass. Dugout canoes still feature in fishing operations on almost all water bodies. No restrictions are imposed on the number of craft or nets that an artisanal fisher can own. Despite being in a ministry where farmers enjoy a number of incentives, such as tax relief on inputs and equipment for production, the same does not apply to the fisheries sector. 9. Recreational Subsector The recreational sector is predominantly tourist-oriented and is based on the exploitation of the Tiger fish (Hydrocynus vittatus). Organization of this subsector is spearheaded by the Zambia Sport Fishing Association (ZSFA). Destinations include the Kafue, Luangwa and Zambezi rivers, and lakes Bangweulu, Kariba and Tanganyika. 10. Aquaculture Subsector Zambia is a country richly endowed with natural resources ideally suited to aquaculture production. Aquaculture promotion in Zambia has a long history, dating back over forty years. Considerable work by the Department of Fisheries in cooperation with international assistance agencies and NGOs in promoting aquaculture practices in the country has resulted in some 6 000 small-scale farmers now operating over 13 000 fish ponds throughout the country. At the same time, 16 large commercial fish farmers have taken up the activity in the Copper belt, Lusaka and Southern Provinces, where ideal conditions for such business exist. The subsector produces about 5 000 t/yr of fish. Of this, 75 percent comes from small-scale aquaculture, while commercial fish farmers produce the other 25 percent. Aquaculture is expanding in all nine provinces of the country, and as a result, Zambia is now one of the largest aquaculture producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Aquaculture systems range from extensive to intensive systems, and include both multispecies culture and monoculture. There are three levels of fish farmers: small-scale, emergent (smallholder), and commercial. Small-scale fish farmers rely on family labour and practise extensive culture. Emergent fish farmers have income generation from the element of food security for their households. They purchase some inputs and practise integration, i.e. combine fish farming, crops and livestock, and they may use family or hired labour for various tasks. Commercial fish farming is usually very large, intensive and involves large investments. It is market oriented and may include processing for export. The commonly used species in aquaculture include the Three-spotted bream (Oreochromisandersonii), the Green-headed bream (Oreochromis macrochir), and the Red-breasted bream (Tilapa rendalli). The Kafue River strain of the Three-spotted bream is the most commonly farmed species in the commercial sector. Other species include the common carp, the Nile tilapia and freshwater crayfish. Technical skills are still lacking among most small-scale fish farmers in terms of fish husbandry practices and pond construction. They also lack capital to improve and increase their investment in aquaculture, while the Department of Fisheries is constrained by limited funding and capacity (training and staff shortages) from providing effective extension support. Long standing constraints in aquaculture include: inadequate extension services, lack of comprehensive training packages and materials, chronic shortages of quality fish seed and fingerlings, high cost of fish feed, and poor marketing support. There are continuing government efforts to promote aquaculture as it believes that exploitation of opportunities in aquaculture will reduce pressure on capture fisheries and provide opportunities for increased incomes for the rural poor. Further, the development of commercial-scale aquaculture will contribute positively to economic growth. 11. Post-Harvest Use Fish utilization Almost all fish produced in the country is intended for human consumption. Fish is processed and distributed in various forms: fresh, salted, smoke-dried, sun-dried, frozen and filleted. There is also processing for ornamental purposes. Rarely is any fish processed into fishmeal for the production of animal feed. Infrastructure relates to the processing operation. See Table 1. Table 1. Infrastructure associated with particular processing operations in Zambia
12. Fish Markets Market facilitation operations are still undeveloped in Zambia due to orientation of production to domestic demand. In fact, the domestic fish market is still a sellers’ market and therefore requires little additional effort. Since health and safety requirements for exports to regional and other fish markets are not restrictive, anyone with cold storage, packaging and transportation facilities can export. Nationally, valuable markets are found in Central, Copper Belt, Eastern and Lusaka provinces, as these have huge, dense populations. Exports in limited quantities are usually carried out by individuals for target markets. Regional export markets are mostly for consumption, while international markets trade in ornamental species. Regional destination markets include Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of South Africa and Zimbabwe. At international level, and specific to live fish for ornamental purposes, the common destinations are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, UK, Germany, Russia, Sweden and the United States of America. 13. Fishery Sector Performance Annual capture fisheries output per person has declined from 11.4 kg in the 1970s to 8 kg in the 1990s, and to 6.4 kg in 2003. Overall increases in total fish production are less than increases in population. Social circumstances, such as periodic outbreaks of cholera in production areas and seasonal restrictions, affect production and market conditions. Even though annual fish production increased from 40 000 t/yr in the late 1960s to over 62 000 t in 2000, it has consistently failed to exceed 70 000 t/yr, even in favourable years. At the same time, per capita fish production has dropped 50 percent. Drastic declines in fish catches per unit effort indicate that the fish stocks either are fully- or overexploited. In order to increase annual per capita fish production from the current <6 kg to the target of 12 kg, technology and management of capture fisheries must change to support such an increase. In the absence of such improvement, and with little likelihood of such a change in the near future, significant gains in fish production can only come from fish farming. Expansion of fish farming will supplement production of natural fisheries, reduce pressure on natural stocks and contribute to improved food production and nutrition. 14. Economic Role of Fisheries in the National Economy The contribution to GDP of fisheries and aquaculture as a subsector of the agricultural sector has averaged 3 percent out of the 18 percent share that agriculture, forestry and fishing contribute to GDP. This estimate is largely based on the contribution from capture fisheries, as production from aquaculture is not regularly reported. Attainment of self-sufficiency in household food security, increased number of people employed by the sector and a reduction in poverty levels is indicated by people in fishery areas being able to purchase luxury goods (i.e. bicycles, radios), willingness to pay levies and taxes for social amenities and improved housing indicate the economic role of fisheries. 15. Demand and Supply Population density, supplies and income determine the demand for marketed fish. The current estimates for annual fish production from capture fisheries ranges between 60 000 and 70 000 t, with an estimated 5 000 produced through aquaculture. The national demand for fish is conservatively estimated at 120 000 t/yr, and this gap between supply and demand is foreseen to increase further with population growth. The country has the potential to produce more fish on a sustainable basis with the development of aquaculture and rational management of capture fisheries. 16. Trade The unsatisfied demand for fish in the local market has restricted the amounts of fish that can be exported. The major import and export flows are mainly of the fresh water sardines Limnothrissa spp. and Stolothrissa spp. (kapenta), whereas smoked and fresh Lates stappersi and smoked Clarias species are heavily traded in the region. Greater participation of fisheries in the foreign exchange earnings is only found in the ornamental fish trade. However, data to ascertain the extent of contribution to national earnings is scanty as only rough estimates exist of the monetary value of the present fish trade. 17. Food Security Fish is an important food item in the Zambian diet, accounting for up to 55 percent of the national dietary animal protein. The importance of fish in household food expenditure shows that with increasing levels of poverty the proportion of fish in household food expenditure also increases. Rural households account for 47 percent of fish consumption, followed by urban poor households (30 percent). However, in terms of agricultural and non-agricultural households, the latter demonstrate more than 50 percent of household expenditures for fish. Urban dwellers generally consume more fish than people in rural areas. Moreover, within the urban areas, the low-income stratum spends a greater proportion of household expenditure on fish because fish provides the cheapest source of animal protein. Everyone, irrespective of socio-economic status, enjoys fish in Zambia; there is therefore a strong recognition by government that aquaculture can and should play an important role in terms of food security, nutrition and income generation. 18. Employment Fish production is an important occupation in rural Zambia, with about 25 000 artisanal fishers and 30 000 others active in fish processing and trading, all estimated to derive their livelihood directly from fishing. The fishing industry in Zambia is categorized as Artisanal or Industrial. These sectors either directly or indirectly offer employment at various levels, improving the local economy, especially in rural areas. Estimates are that a total of 300 000 people benefit from fishing or ancillary activities. Among artisanal fishers, it is common to find fishing fleets that are owned by absentee landlords who purchase the fishing equipment and boats and then engage workers to do the fishing. There are only 64 industrial fishers operating on the major lakes: Kariba (36) and Tanganyika (28). Artisan fishers use simple dugout canoes or fibre glass banana boats with outboard engines, while the operations of industrial fishers involve larger vessels operated by inboard engines, with better onboard storage facilities. Main areas of employment associated with the fishery sector are boat building and repair, net manufacturing, fish processing, fuelwood supply, power supply, transportation and marine workshops. Direct employment generated by fish farming is approximately two persons per hectare. 19. Rural Development It is a well known fact that good fish catches coupled with sound management practices coupled with a reliable supply of inputs (seller to buyer) within operational areas will curb migrations of fishers away from fishing. Government policy is aimed at engaging resource users in the management and rational exploitation of the fish resources. Social services are being brought into the fishing communities while encouraging fisher village groupings. 20. Fishery Sector Development Constraints The problems in the sector fall under five categories: those faced by small-scale fishers, problems faced by small-scale fish farmers, those encountered by commercial or large-scale fishers, those faced by large-scale fish farmers, and constraints faced by the government in rational management of capture fisheries and promotion of aquaculture. Across the sector, problems include:
There are other crosscutting issues for consideration relating to health (HIV/AIDS and general sanitation) among fishing communities, the processing chain to add value to fishery products, limited competition among service providers to the fishing industry, and development of marketing (i.e. cold chain). 21. Development Prospects and Strategies The overall objective of the fisheries and aquaculture sector is to contribute to poverty reduction and economic growth through sustainable utilization of fisheries resources and development of aquaculture. In order to achieve this objective, and in view of sectoral problems and strengths identified, possible interventions are:
In order to be more focused and achieve maximum benefits from the interventions identified, these could functionally be divided into three components:
22. Research The Department of Fisheries is responsible for provision of research services on both capture fisheries and fish farming. Each major fishery has a research station whose aim is to assess and analyse through quantitative methods and population models the level of exploitation of fish stocks. Fisheries research on floodplain river systems focuses on needs for resource protection and enhancement. Other emerging research areas include the ecology of exploited species, fisheries ecology, bio-economics, fisheries economics, limnology, fishing gear, fishing technology, systematics and fisheries law. Fisheries research in Zambia has mainly dealt with the two areas of fish biology and ecology. Zambia has no major fisheries research projects. The last project was inaugurated in 1991, Research for the Management of the Fisheries of Lake Tanganyika, which was financed by FINNIDA and implemented by FAO. The project involved all the Lake Tanganyika riparian states. Nevertheless, there has been a lot of collaborative work involving research grants with:
The department has 19 aquaculture stations throughout the country, 5 of which are aquaculture research stations. The other centres are for extension, training demonstrations and production of fingerlings. Aquaculture research conducted in Zambia has largely been applied research confined to conducting trials on methodologies developed elsewhere and how best to adapt those to local conditions. 23. Education Training in fisheries aims at meeting the aspirations of the industry and to provide skilled workers capable of participating in development programmes. The Department of Fisheries provides training at lower levels. Fisheries education in tertiary institutions of learning is new in the country and was introduced in the early 1990s, but without the necessary financial support and requisite infrastructure. There are no formal arrangements in which training in tertiary institutions outside the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives are linked to development needs. The relevance of training programmes would be more effective with greater stakeholder involvement in fisheries training and planning. 24. Foreign Aid A number of donors have been active in assisting development in the sector. These include the Japanese Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD), the Swedish Development Agency (SIDA), the Finnish Development Agency (FINNIDA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), SNV and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Two projects are in the pipeline for implementation in 2007:
25. Fishery Sector Institutions The fisheries and aquaculture sector consists of two branches: the Fisheries Extension and Management Branch, and the Fisheries Research Branch. The two branches are mandated to implement fisheries and aquaculture development programmes. There are also a number of private sector participants – commercial or large-scale fish farmers, fishers and traders, and a number of small-scale fishers, fish farmers and traders. Community-based fisheries management programmes are being assisted through organized fisher groups that participate in conservation and education programmes among community members. The National Aquaculture Association of Zambia (NAAZ), an affiliate of the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), intends to take advantage of agricultural programmes such as the government’s national irrigation projects aimed at increasing the efficient use of water bodies through fish farming. 26. General Legal Framework Fisheries legislation has had a comparatively slow evolution as it does not conform to current changes in policy and traditions of the local communities. Legislation is old and inappropriate to current thinking for the management and development of fisheries, as it has not changed from the colonial era.
The Main Fishery Regulations can be categorized in two sets:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAO Home>Fisheries & Aquaculture
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONShelping to build a world without hunger
Fisheries and
Aquaculture Department
