Inland fresh water fishing

Woman fishing in a river. Image credit adventourizim.com

• Subsistence fishing has been and is still practiced in Southern Africa.
• Subsistence fishing refers to fishing, other than sport fishing, that is carried out primarily to feed the family and relatives of the person doing the fishing.
• Generally it also implies the use of low technology “artisanal” fishing techniques and is carried out by people who are very poor or in developing countries.
• The subsistence fishers use simple fishing methods that enable small quantities of fish to be harvested at any given time.
• This enable the natural process to replace the harvested fish.
• This renders the system sustainable.
• The introduction of commercial fishing and modern fishing equipment like the gill net, rigs and powered boats has seen a dramatic increase in fish harvests.
• The fish are been harvested at a faster rate than the replacement levels.
• This has resulted in over-fishing, making the industry unsustainable.
• Fresh water fisheries in the SADC region include natural lakes, dams, flood plains, swamps/marshes and rivers.

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