Tanzania's fisheries sector is pursuing greater commercial investment through value addition, wider market access and more private sector involvement under the Fish4ACP initiative, according to allAfrica.com. The push, reported from Rukwa, aims to raise incomes, strengthen fisheries businesses and keep aquatic resources in use over the long term.
The initiative's work in Tanzania centres on the sardine, sprat and perch value chains in Lake Tanganyika. Its most recent phase has reached more than 10,000 people working in fisheries, allAfrica.com reports, through training and improved technologies intended to cut post-harvest losses, lift product quality and open opportunities across the value chain.
The details emerged at a meeting titled "From Project to Partnership: Sustaining the Legacy of Fish4ACP in Lake Tanganyika," where participants reviewed what the initiative has achieved and what should follow.
Why it matters
Fish is both an economic resource and a source of protein for communities around Lake Tanganyika, and the sector's direction affects incomes, jobs and food supply. The government wants fishing to move beyond subsistence level toward operations that create more economic value, according to allAfrica.com.
Prof Mohammed Sheikh, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, told the meeting that Tanzania needs this shift while still ensuring aquatic resources are used sustainably. He said the government was putting money into aquaculture, tightening measures against illegal and unreported fishing, and improving fishing infrastructure so the sector contributes more to the national economy.
At the same time, he pointed to a problem that could undercut those ambitions: fish stocks are shrinking. Prof Sheikh cited survey figures showing stocks on the Tanzanian side of Lake Tanganyika fell from 157,000 metric tonnes in 1998 to 144,000 tonnes in 2022, then to 84,000 tonnes in 2024 and 61,000 tonnes in 2025. The trend, he said, poses a growing risk to the industry's long-term commercial viability and underlines the need for responsible management of the resource.
What the initiative delivered
Nyabenyi Tipo, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations country representative, said Fish4ACP has trained fisheries workers in fish handling, processing and quality management, according to allAfrica.com. The initiative also brought in solar tent dryers, ovens, freezers and ice-making plants, she said, to raise product quality, extend how long catch can be stored and reduce losses that eat into earnings. Support for market access, business development and women's participation has further strengthened the value chain, she added.
FAO implements Fish4ACP with backing from the European Union and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The programme promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture value chains in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Mark Stalmann, head of cooperation for the EU, said future work should draw on what the initiative has taught and move away from short-term project assistance toward long-term partnerships and investment that can produce concrete economic opportunities, allAfrica.com reports.
Participants at the meeting also identified research, financial literacy, business skills and dependable market information as necessary for fisheries enterprises to compete more effectively.
From project support to standing businesses
Hashim Muumin, the Fish4ACP coordinator, cautioned that holding onto these gains will require continued investment, stronger institutions, working digital market platforms and effective fisheries management, according to allAfrica.com. The task ahead, he said, is turning improvements supported by the project into businesses that can stand on their own, stronger links to markets and sustainable investment that delivers lasting economic benefits to fishing communities.
The meeting's title framed the same question: how to carry the initiative's legacy forward once project support ends. The answer will shape whether the Lake Tanganyika value chains can absorb the pressure of falling stocks while still growing commercially.
What to watch: whether the partnerships and investment discussed at the Rukwa meeting materialise, and whether stock surveys on the Tanzanian side of the lake show the decline slowing.
