The Potential of the Inland Fisheries Sector in South Africa and Its Role in the Rural Economy

1. Introduction

The inland fisheries sector is one of the most important industries with a significant potential in boosting the socio-economic status of rural communities in developing countries [1]. In Africa, inland fisheries are recognised as means of promoting rural development, poverty alleviation, food security, and improving livelihoods [1, 2]. Consequently, the African Union has designated this industry as a priority investment area [3]. In rural areas, where alternative employment opportunities may be limited, the sector offers a source of income, food, employment. In South Africa, the economic and social potential of inland fisheries is also gaining traction. The government regards the fisheries sector as a panacea to poverty and arresting rising levels of unemployment, especially poor communities. However, despite numerous attempts to develop the sector, beginning in the 1970s, the fisheries sector is still underdeveloped [4]. Concerns about the sustainability of available stocks and future economic viability have been highlighted as some of the factors hampering its full development. Importantly, South Africa lacked an inland fisheries policy until 2021. Other possible reasons include the lack of information on the history, present state, and potential or the sustainability of the inland resource, lack of access to fishing gear and marketing of fish products [4, 5]. Therefore, the government’s water resource management plans did not take into account the potential socioeconomic value of fishing [5]. In this chapter, we highlight the sector’s economic potential as well as several obstacles that may be preventing it from expanding in a sustainable manner in South Africa.

2. History of inland fisheries in South Africa

In the early 1960s, the South African government build several hatcheries around the country to stock inland waters with fish species. The aim was to conserve threatened species, promote aquaculture, but more importantly, to promote recreational and consumptive fisheries. However, the focus has been on stocking public waters with indigenous species to conserve their genetic diversity. Since the 1970s and early 1980s, efforts have been made to set up catch fisheries in inland waters. Such efforts started with stock enhancement using mullet in the Eastern Cape. Two mullet species, Myxus capensis and Mugil cephalus, were introduced into many Eastern Cape impoundments [6]. The fingerlings were placed into impoundments after being wild caught in Eastern Cape estuaries. It was believed then that mullets were more commercially viable than the Labeo umbratus and Cyprinus carpio. Therefore, the stocking was intended to improve the fisheries potential of impoundments in Eastern Cape for gillnet fisheries [6]. During this period, similar attempts were made to promote inland fisheries by stocking impoundments using hatchery-bred fingerlings in impoundments in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Free State, Limpopo and North-West [7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. To promote the stocking of the dams in these areas, the South African government build several hatcheries around the country [13, 14]. The aim was also to conserve threatened species, promote aquaculture, but more importantly, to promote recreational and consumptive fisheries.

3. Current status of inland fisheries in South Africa

Despite the early attempts by the government to set up catch fisheries in inland waters to benefit rural communities, very few projects were successful [13, 15]. In 1978, there were attempts to develop various gillnet fisheries in Darlington Dam, Eastern Cape, based on gutted Labeo umbratus and Cyprinus carpio [16]. According to research, the project was initially successful supplying freshly caught fish to various communities in Grahamstown and Uitenhage [15]. However, the project collapsed due to internal conflicts. A similar project was later implemented in Bloemhof Dam in the Free State [17]. There is little information on the attempts to set up similar projects in most of the dams in the country.

However, there have been a few government-sponsored inland fisheries programmes in various places since 1994. A community-driven fisheries project was implemented in the province of the Eastern Cape on the Great Fish River and in two minor impoundments. It was demonstrated that this project helped the local communities generate revenue and provide food security [13]. Another subsistence fishery was established at Ntenetyana dam. Studies conducted at the site suggested that fishing operations could be increased to the point where a small-scale, community-based fishery was created that included both a recreational and hook-and-line subsistence component [17].

There have been several attempts to establish small-commercial fish harvesting at Gariep dam in the Free State. In 2004, the provincial government in the Free State, through the Department of Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism (DEAET), tried to establish a fishery project for the Venterstad and Oviston communities Venterstad Community Fisheries Project (VCFP) around the dam. The aim was to create economic opportunities for historically-disadvantaged individuals by facilitating access for the communities in designated locations of the lake. The project has not been successful, though. Its failure has been attributed to, among other things, lack of adequate knowledge, lack of consultation, poor planning and management [18].

The aim to promote inland fisheries at Gariep dam can be traced back to the early 1960s when the state constructed a fish hatchery along the Orange River, which supplies the Gariep dam. The hatchery is one of the state hatcheries that were built in the 1960–1970s throughout the country. Thus far, it is the only the hatchery that is fully functional after extensive renovations in 2009 with the help of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. However, the focus on the centre now is to produce African Sharptooth catfish fingerlings for aquaculture and not for fisheries purposes. Currently, there is no small-commercial fisheries at the Gariep dam, but only subsistence and recreational fishing is thriving.

4. Small-scale fisheries and subsistence inland fisheries

Small-scale fishing is defined as fishing that uses traditional ways to capture fish for both food and profit. Such operations usually employ few people (±10) for labour. Small-scale fishing operations are frequently family-run and can be distinguished by their labour-intensive nature and low capital investment. Subsistence fishing, on the other hand, is when people fish to satisfy their fundamental needs, such as food. There are few small-scale and numerous subsistence fishing activities taking place in most inland water bodies in almost all inland provinces. In these areas, fishing is mainly for food security and livelihoods for rural communities. However, for a long time, these sectors have primarily remained informal, with no defined governance structures or stakeholder organisations. The limited number of authorised small-scale fisheries utilise basic, manually operated equipment such as treknets or gillnets. In most cases, the economic worth and overall yields are typically unknown. The irony, however, is that most of the subsistence and small-scale fishermen live in disadvantaged areas and lack a steady source of income and are mostly dependent on this activity to provide for their families, which leaves them with little left over to sell for a profit. Therefore, the sector’s contribution to the South African economy is minimal. A few factors, such as commerce, cultural preferences, and household poverty levels, are reported to affect the sector’s contribution to food security or the economy. In most instances, there is little enhancement in the value of catches, and the fish are typically sold fresh through informal channels or consumed by the household. Fishers have highlighted several factors that they consider as a hindrance to their fishing activities. This encompasses, among other factors, fishing rights, traditional and customary fishing practises, and lack of recognition by the government and other stakeholders.

5. Potential economic benefit of the inland fisheries sector in South Africa

South Africa is one of the African countries where levels of poverty continue rising, with the most recent statistics from 2024 showing a slight increase from previous years. Young people are the most impacted, dealing with issues including underemployment, unemployment, and unethical labour. Although several initiatives, and programmes have been introduced to assist unemployed people, available data shows these are not sufficient to eradicate the challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, which are commonly referred to as the “triple challenges” in the country. The problem is severe in rural communities compared to urban areas. This has resulted in many unemployed people resorting to entrepreneurship, with some focusing on aquaculture and fisheries. For many unemployed youth and women, the fisheries sector provides a better alternative worth pursuing because of the low operational costs involved.

Inland fisheries resources in South Africa have the potential to support economic growth, job creation, and food security. However, there lack of research on fish populations and economic potential of fisheries in most of the dams in the country has been identified as one of the most limiting factors affecting the industry. The available data has so far been limited to few small dams and is outdated. These include studies conducted in several small dams in the Eastern Cape [16, 19, 20, 21, 22]; Gariep dam and Van der Kloof dam on the Orange River system in the Free State [6, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29]; Hartbeespoort Dam on the Crocodile- and Magalies River systems in the North West Province [30].

Dams in the Eastern Cape seem to be most researched for their inland fisheries potential. Among the dams investigated for their fisheries potential in the Eastern Cape in the early 1990s, research concluded that the Xonxa reservoir displayed favourable catch rates for the establishment of a fishery based on Labeo aeneus [19]. Later in 2009, Richardson et al. [22] again investigated the stock assessment of the dam, especially the biology of L. aeneus and C. gariepinus. The aim of the stock assessment models was to assess the sustainable development and management of fisheries project in the dam. Two species, namely Labeobarbus aeneus and Clarias gariepinus were found to be exploitable for a sustainable fishery. The study indicated that a gillnet fishery for L. aeneus (60 mm stretched mesh) could be established (harvest 23 t y⁻¹) while a longline fishery could be possible for C. gariepinus (harvest 4 t y⁻¹) [22]. Other dams in the Eastern Cape that were investigated for their fisheries potential include Sinqemeni, Ndlambe, Dimbaza Katriver, and Laing [20, 21]. The research focused on the exploitation of L. umbratus populations, which is one of the most occurring species in these dams. The research conducted in these dams concluded that populations of this species would be better suited for exploitation in small, shallow, slightly-enriched reservoirs because L. umbratus grows more quickly than populations from more oligotrophic dams [20, 21]. Darlington Dam in Eastern Cape is also among dams investigated for its capacity to sustain an inland fisheries project. Labeobarbus umbratus, C. carpio, and C. gariepinus are the most dominant species at the dam. Research was conducted at the dam to examine the populations of L. umbratus, C. carpio, and C. gariepinus for proposed commercial fisheries (longline and gillnet) and existing recreational angling [16]. Models for stock assessment suggested that gillnet fishing (mesh size of 100 mm) could be implemented. However, until the complete impact of the fishery on the stock is known, the researchers cautioned that annual harvests should not surpass 60 tonnes [16].

The Gariep dam in the Free State is another dam with an economic potential for fisheries. It is the largest dam in South Africa, with a total storage capacity of roughly 5,340,000 megalitres (5340 hm3) and a surface area exceeding 370 square kilometres (140 sq. mi) when at full capacity. Studies conducted in the dam in the 1980s showed a health population of largemouth yellowfish L. kimberleyensis, smallmouth yellowfish L. aeneus, L. capensis, L. umbratus, C. gariepinus and C. carpio [23]. Cyprinus carpio was regarded as the species with the greatest harvest potential. The study concluded that a commercial gillnet fishery could be implemented at an annual catch of 886 tons (multi-species). A recent study conducted at the dam by Swanepoel [31] confirmed the potential exploitation of the dam for fisheries. The study concluded that the dam can provide rural communities with economic opportunities, food security and improve livelihoods [31]. This dam is currently supporting several fishing activities at substance level, indicating its potential for an establishment of a small-scale-commercial fisheries enterprises.

In the North-West province, studies for the potential establishment of inland fisheries were conducted in the Hartbeespoort Dam [30]. This dam is dominated by benthic feeding species, namely C. gariepinus and C. carpio, a condition attributed to the eutrophic state of the dam. The results of the study were not conclusive as to which species had the greatest potential for fisheries [30]. Nevertheless, owing to the ecological state sate of the dam, the study advocates for the harvesting of 200–300 tonnes of these species to facilitate the restoration of zooplankton and macrobenthos communities. The researchers postulated that this would promote the dominance of Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, in the dam. They recommend that a community fishery project using mainly gillnets could be established at the dam. however, there is thriving fisheries projects at the dam.

It is clear from the preceding paragraphs that there are few studies that have been conducted to assess the biological sustainability of harvesting fish from South African impoundments. The lack of information on the population levels and biology of species targeted for fisheries is a major problem hindering the exploitation and consequently also the economics of the inland fishery sector in South Africa. Recently, the South African government, through the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment, embarked on an initiative to expand and formalise the inland fisheries industry in order to realise its potential to contribute to the economy. New studies are being undertaken at various dams to assess the resource status of inland fisheries in South Africa to assist the government to develop policies that promote and manage the utilisation of the resources in a sustainable manner for the benefit of all communities. These studies show that inland fisheries in South Africa can provide rural communities with economic opportunities, food security and improve livelihoods [31, 32]. South Africa is reported to have more than 700 public dams, most of which have not been explored. Most of these dams and rivers are found in poor rural areas where they are primarily used for domestic and agricultural purposes. Some of the dams with a tremendous potential to sustain a thriving fisheries sector that are currently be assed include the Gariep Dam in the Free State, Vaal dam, Gauteng Province, Flag Boshielo dam, Limpopo Province, Nandoni dam, Limpopo Province, and the De Hoop Dam, Limpopo Province, Pongolapoort, in KwaZulu-Natal, Voëlvlei, in the Western Cape Province, and Loskop, in Mpumalanga. Most of these dams are already supporting several substance fishery activities, providing a vital source of protein and a source of income for surrounding communities. However, there is no small-scale or commercial inland fishing activities in these dams. Historically, South Africa’s commercial inland fishing has been restricted to a small number of dams.

6. Economic potential of substance and small-scale fisheries in rural communities

Since the small-scale fishing industry is mostly an informal activity without a formal framework for stakeholder participation or data collection, there is a dearth of published information on the scope and livelihood significance of this activity in rural communities. To describe the existing small-scale fishery and evaluate the relevance of indigenous knowledge in inland fisheries, case studies of a few chosen fishing communities were undertaken. The findings showed that small-scale fishing activities for livelihood purposes was present on 77% of inland water bodies in South Africa. These investigations also discovered that there was minimal indication of value addition and that freshwater fish value chains were brief. Usually, caught fish are for family consumption or sold fresh at nearby busy intersections. A study conducted using a GIS model to identify regions of higher potential based on the relationships between climate, geography and fish yield to predict areas showed that large South African impoundments have a fishery production potential of 15,000 t. However, this production potential is good for subsentence and small-scale fisheries, but it is not feasible for the establishment of large-scale commercial or industrial fisheries in inland waters. Therefore, the best way to use inland fisheries for livelihoods is for recreational and small-scale subsistence fishing. According to consultations with small-scale fishing communities, small-scale fishing is a significant source of income for many households and should be acknowledged and supported by inland fishing policies.

7. Current challenges

The studies conducted at some dams in South Africa have identified some of the challenges affecting the growth and sustainability of the inland fisheries industry. Apart from the lack of research data on the sustainability of fisheries at most dams, researchers have highlighted the lack of laws and policies as a challenge to the successful development of the sector. Laws and policies are needed to regularise the industry and development management plans for fisheries activities. A detailed list of specific challenges affecting the sector in South Africa include poor governance, inadequate organisational structures, restricted access to markets, social services, and financial resources, low participation of small-scale or subsistence fishermen in decision-making, overfishing, poor fishing methods, and a lack of value-adding mechanisms. Researchers recommend that government needs to undertake fundamental reforms to improve the sector’s governance and develop policies that will recognise, protect, manage and promote inland fisheries. They further argue that new strategies focussing on marketing and building of processing plants are critical as this will add value to catches and help rural households make more profit.

8. Policy and legislation

South Africa has had no inland fisheries policy until recently (2021). The lack of the policy has resulted in the sector not receiving recognition and not being managed effectively. While the government has so far effectively and efficiently governed other public resources including land, water, minerals, and sea fisheries, inland fisheries were largely ignored. Experts and fishermen have listed the lack of a guiding policy/legislation as the main factor affecting the development of the inland fisheries in South Africa. In many places fishing in dams and rivers has been regarded as illegal activity and the lack of regulation resulted in serious problems for the industry such as overfishing or arrest of fishers by authorities. The lack of a fair governance policy has also resulted in the proliferation of using unregulated fishing practises. In South Africa, existing policies regarding inland fisheries have mainly focused on conservation and biodiversity rather on the sector as a source of income, food security, or economic contribution. As a result, several small-scale fishermen have voiced their worries that the government and other stakeholders do not acknowledge their fishing rights, traditional and customary fishing methods, or the sector’s contribution to the upliftment of rural lives.

To address this problem, DFFE recently embarked on the initiative of developing an inland fisheries policy. The goal of this policy is to bring inland fisheries governance into compliance with constitutional mandates for a sustainable development strategy that utilises natural resources for the good of all residents. Although gazetted and promulgated in 2021, the full implementation and effect of the policy has not yet had an impact on the sector. Clearly, the implementation of the policy will take time to have effect due to the diverse inland fisheries resources. The new policy guarantees a comprehensive, multi-departmental, and multi-stakeholder approach to the sustainable growth of the inland fisheries sector. It also tackles the present necessity for transformation and expansion of value chains associated with the inland fishing industry. Henceforth, the informal and unrecognised activities of small-scale fishers in inland areas would be formalised and regulated according to national legislation. Additionally, in contrast to the current situation, where fishing activities are regulated by the provincial departments responsible for environmental management, the department (DFFE) will promulgate national and provincial legislation that permits and authorises the issuance of permits and authorisations to individuals, legal entities, or community groups. The department has suggested that, by considering ecological constraints like waste management, pollution reduction, habitat preservation and restoration, and sustainable harvesting of fisheries resources, the policy would enable the fisheries sector to develop sustainably and contribute more to economy. The policy promises to give priority to subsistence and small-scale fishermen when granting permits. Among other things, the policy promises to guarantee that all resource-users will priority have access to an effective and user-friendly registration and permitting system.

9. Important consideration-what must be done to promote rural inland fisheries in SA?

Most of the dams identified to have the greatest potential for inland fisheries were built in rural communities. Therefore, the sector should be improved so that it can used to uplift poor communities from poverty. The question, “what must be done to promote rural inland fisheries in SA” represents an important step towards the realisation of the economic potential of inland fisheries for rural communities in South Africa. It sets the tone and allow the government to set priorities about what needs to do urgently address or remove all obstacles. Despite the government having achieved one of the most important requirements (enacting an inland fisheries policy which scientists have been consistently calling for), several other issues require urgent attention before the full potential of the sector can be realised. Without them being addressed, the policy will not achieve its intended purpose. To address some of these challenges, government must develop and implement fisheries management plans to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fisheries sector. Extension officers will have to be trained to educate communities and fishermen about the implementation and benefit of the policy in addressing overfishing while improving access to fisheries resource. These interventions will address concerns of fairness and capability in order for communities to take full advantage of inland fisheries-based livelihood opportunities. It is also necessary for inland fisheries to be legally recognised for their socioeconomic benefits and for supporting rural livelihoods.

More research is still needed to assess the inland potential of most dams that are currently being used for subsistence and small-scale fisheries. The dearth of information regarding the sector’s productivity, sustainability, and possible effects on the biodiversity of indigenous species is one of the main obstacles hindering its growth on the majority of South African water bodies. Therefore, research surveys and stock assessments should be prioritised. Other considerations that research has to address include climate change adaptation. Climate change has the potential to alter the future of inland fisheries. Investigating and developing measures to adapt to climate change will guarantee the long-term sustainability of the sector.

Marketing of catches from subsistence fisheries is also limiting factor affecting the economic potential of the sector, especially at subsistence level. The majority of the produce is used for domestic purposes, with the remainder being sold to neighbours or unofficial marketplaces without any value-addition, which means minimal profit. It is thus critical for government to invest in infrastructure that will promote inland fisheries development in rural communities and ensure they benefit from fisheries resources. These will include, among others, investing in roads, storage facilities for caught fish, processing plants, value addition and marketing. In most cases, the fish is sold fresh, which means it cannot be kept for long, as it will start spoiling. Finally, it is imperative for government, through partnerships with the private sector, to create financial support platforms designed to support rural communities to invest in inland fisheries enterprises and to promote access to markets for fish products. Therefore, it is important for the government to prioritise public sector initiatives that raise the value of fish products from fishing communities.