IYAFA: Interview with Jeppe Kolding, professor in fisheries science at University of Bergen, Norway

We sat down with professor Jeppe Kolding to learn more about the relation between Inland fisheries, nutrition and economic development, why we should pay more attention to this sector, and how it can increase food security and nutrition for communities all over the world.

Can you talk about the importance of inland fisheries and aquatic small-scale producers for employment, food security and nutrition, resource stewardship and cultural values for communities?

Freshwater is vital for all life. Human societies have always evolved around rivers or lakes or in vicinity of freshwater, and where there's water there's usually fish. Freshwater fisheries have always been part of the human culture, it exists all over the world, and fish has always been part of the human diet. Freshwater systems are at least ten times more productive per unit area than marine and provide more nutritious fish than the oceans. However, the importance of freshwater fisheries is undervalued, underappreciated, and under studied because most of the discussion about fisheries is centered around the more visible marine fisheries, and the models and the fisheries management paradigm are based on what has been developed for marine fisheries.

Freshwater fisheries have a very important role in terms of food security for communities all over the world. In many different parts of Africa for example, wherever there’s a pond or a stream you usually see women with mosquito nets and baskets, catching fish to feed their families. Fishing at such a small scale is often ignored in fisheries statistics, so its value is hidden. Studies have shown that most freshwater fishers are also farmers, which means that they are registered in the official statistics as farmers not as fishers. Inland fisheries are a very important part of this diversified livelihood, so it is important to keep talking and keep raising awareness on the relevance inland fisheries have as a source of nutritious and easily available food for many communities. Inland fisheries also reflect the seasonal reality of rural livelihoods, for example, if a farmer does not have access to food during the season when the crops grow, he/she will likely rely on wild foods including fish from rivers or streams to provide food for their families. If we look back, it used to be the same in most western “global-north” societies, but nowadays freshwater fisheries in many of these countries have become recreational rather than important assets for human nutrition, and that has an important impact on how inland fisheries is perceived, valued and taken into account.

Can you provide examples of projects, policies and legislation that promote sustainable inland fisheries?

Governments should start by developing national strategies to understand these fisheries, what we see is a complete lack of information about how much fish and aquatic food is being caught and collected and the impact that has on the nutrition of many families. There are so many villages with access to fishing in small rivers and streams and no information is collected about that. So, one of the main issues for inland fisheries is the underreporting and undervaluation of the sector. Inland fisheries are much larger than the available data suggests, and unlike marine fisheries, most of freshwater fisheries contributes little to the country’s GDP, but the important fact is that its contribution to food security, especially in developing countries, is very significant, so it has an enormous but hidden value.

Another point, which is not fully appreciated, is its role for nutrition. When we talk about fisheries we usually refer to the volume of the catch, without considering the nutritious components, and it has been clearly demonstrated that the small fish, that constitute the bulk of the catch in many inland fisheries and are eaten whole, are more nutritious than large fish of which large parts are discarded as waste, so we can say that people are not only being fed, but they are being fed with highly nutritious food. In conclusion, we need to change peoples’ mindset about freshwater fisheries, to realize that it is, at the same time, an economic activity, and a cheap, accessible, and excellent source of nutrients. In Africa, most conversations about food security revolve around agriculture, but there is an opportunity to increase the consumption of nutritious food and improve food security through inland fisheries. Freshwater fisheries in general are very resilient to exploitation, because many of the dominating species in inland fisheries reproduce at a young age and grow very fast making inland fisheries sustainable despite high fishing pressure.

How can IYAFA 2022 help increase the awareness of inland fisheries, and what is needed to raise attention on this field?

The International Year celebration is an important opportunity to increase awareness about inland fisheries, what is needed, and the importance of inland fisheries today and in the future. I believe that the most important message we need to bring forward in relation to inland fisheries is that it is extremely sustainable, as food production system, it is the cleanest of all, there is no use of fertilizers, no use of energy, and no waste of water. Freshwater fishes are self-sustaining and most important, they are easy to access, anyone with very simple tools can go to a river, pond or lake and catch a bit of fish to improve their families’ diets. I believe it is important to shift peoples’ perception of inland fisheries and make them understand that it is an economic activity of fundamental importance for peoples’ livelihoods. Changing the narrative changes the results. I am not saying other agricultural activities are not essential, but I believe we can have new and sustainable solutions if we look at freshwater fisheries as an economic activity.

Biography

Jeppe Kolding is professor in fisheries science at University of Bergen, Norway, specializing in small-scale fisheries in developing countries and their importance in terms of food and nutrition security. Previously he was employed by the Institute of Marine Research, Centre for Development Cooperation in Fisheries, where he worked with the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen programme under FAO. He has lived and worked several years in various African countries and has experience from short-term engagements in more than 25 developing countries. Primary research interest is fish stock assessment, ecology, harvest strategies and management of small-scale tropical fisheries, both inland and marine. He has been a member of the IUCN/CEM Fisheries Expert Group (FEG) since 2008 where he initiated the work on ‘Balanced harvest’.