By Kingsley Jassi:
Malawi’s fish production is on the decline, registering a 9.2 percent drop in 2024 despite an increase in total revenue by 22 percent to $217.7 million.
This is contained in the Government Annual Economic Report issued by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, which also shows an increased number of jobs the fisheries sector supported in the year.
“The decline in catch landings by 9.2 percent has resulted in a corresponding decline in per capita fish consumption from 9.65 kilogrammes [kg] in 2023 to 8.5 kg in the year 2024. This shows that the current fish supply does not meet the needs of the growing population of the country,” the report reads.
The 2024 annual capture fishery production of 183,396 metric tonnes shows that usipa continues to dominate the production, accounting for 51 percent of the total annual catch.
The chambo fishery, the country’s flagship fish species, declined in the year by 3.5 percent from 13,916 metric tons in 2023 to 13,428 metric tons in 2024.
The aquaculture sector registered a significant growth of 53.4 percent to 14 300 metric tons while ornamental fish exports dropped from $113 900 to $95 800 in the year.
In terms of districts, Nkhata bay remains the country’s fisheries hub, accounting for 31 percent of total fish produced in the year, followed by Nkhotakota with 19 percent, Machinga 15 percent and Mangochi with 13 percent.
However, the department of fisheries lamented significant paucity of information and data on both fingerling production and table size fish production among most of the private fish farming investments across the country.
“As a result, most of the district fisheries offices are unable to adequately record and report on the fish production status of such establishments. This situation culminates to underestimation and therefore undervaluation of the fisheries sector,” reads the report.
Meanwhile, research findings by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) unveiled an investment model to transform the fisheries sector with potential to impact over 2 million people in the country.
The FAO researcher, Alfred Tsitsi, found cage farming with more potential, having room for investment of $1.1 billion in lake Malawi and the upper Shire, providing jobs to 384 000 people, a transformation he said can impact on 1.8 million people.
Tsitsi further suggested a total of $250 million investment to develop 168 farms of an average of five hectors each across the country with all the districts having produc!on potential at varying levels. The aqua culture subsector has a 2030 strategic goal to increase fish production to 100 000 tons in the next five years from the 14 300 metric tons as the country pursues the adequate per capita consumption to 15 kg per year.
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