Malawi - Lake Malawi Artisanal Fisheries Development Project

The Lake Malawi Artisanal Fisheries Development Project, in line with the overall goal of the PRSP of achieving sustainable poverty reduction, seeks to develop artisanal fisheries in five contiguous Lake Malawi littoral districts. It has been designed to support Government’s efforts in community empowerment with the active participation of all stakeholders. To introduce sustainable fisheries activities on the lake requires the application of watershed management support to guarantee adequate regulation of the hydrological cycles and steady supply of clean and adequate volumes of water into the lake. The main thrust of the project is to increase on a sustainable basis capture fish production, complemented by watershed management activities. It also aims at addressing the two main problems confronting the fisheries subsector in the country, which are: (i), the over-exploitation of inshore fish stocks; and (ii) the lack of resources and capacity to tap proven offshore fish stocks. The project comprises four components, namely: (i) Fish Production and Marketing Development; (ii) Credit Delivery; (iii) Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening; and (iv) Project Management.