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Tanzania: Unlocking Lake Tanganyika's economy

Yakub Talib

More than 90 percent of fishers and seafood processors from the world's deepest lake Tanganyika, lack refrigerators for storing fish stocks. With the FISH4ACP project, the UN food agency FAO, the EU, and the German government want to help unlock the economy of fishing communities in Tanzania and other countries.

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The women fishers of Kigoma want to increase their income. Annually, fishers catch more than 53,000 tons of fish from Lake Tanganyika. The volume could be higher if proper equipment were available. Fish spoil due to lack of proper storage. Fishers need basic items and guidelines for the business. Hundreds work in seafood processing that lacks refrigerators, processing facilities, and funding. Hence they can hardly add value to the product. So, exporting fish and seafood becomes challenging. To reverse this trend, FAO launched FISH4ACP with support from the EU and Germany. It aims to unlock the potential of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture by supporting communities in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.