Give a man a fish

The old adage goes:
 
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day,
teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime
 
Sadly, many global fish stocks are fished at levels that are at, or even beyond, the maximum sustainable yield and despite more advanced technology being used to catch the remaining fish, world fisheries output has been stable for the past 40 years.  This has prompted the adage to be adapted in recent years:
 
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day,
teach a man to fish and you feed him … until the stocks are exhausted
teach a man to farm fish, and you feed him and his community forever
 
Fish farming is celebrated in many circles as being a fantastic branch of agriculture that creates employment and stimulates local economies (Garlock et al 2024; Garcia Sampaio et al 2024).  Fish itself is also a rich source of protein, micronutrients and essential fatty acids, making it a critical dietary component for humans, especially those living in low-income communities.
 
Fish’s unique nutritional properties make it also essential to the health of billions of consumers in both developed and developing countries.  Fish is one of the most efficient converters of feed into high quality food and its carbon footprint is lower compared to other animal production systems.  Through fish-related activities (fisheries and aquaculture but also processing and trading), fish contribute substantially to the income and therefore to the indirect food security of more than 10 % of the world population, essentially in developing and emergent countries.  In addition, because fish is more nutritious than staple foods such as cereals, providing in particular essential fatty acids and micronutrients, it can play an extremely important role in improving the nutritional status of individuals, in particular those at risk such as children and women (Bene et al 2015).
 
So, if fish farming is such a fantastic industry why is it that, with the exception of rainbow trout, fish farming struggles to get off the ground in South Africa (SA)?
 
1.   Climate
SA experiences significant seasonal variability in temperatures.  As such, fish cannot be farmed outdoors throughout the year in most of the country, limiting viable infrastructure to recirculating systems (RAS).  These RAS require a higher level of technical competence than earth ponds or cages, which are commonly used in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of Africa.
 
2.   Government involvement
The second reason is a basket of restrictions to the growth of fish farming that all fall under the influence of government.  RAS require stable power supply and the failure of Eskom to provide that, especially during the dark years of heavy loadshedding, caused many farms to close due to the high cost of operating on generators.
 
Race based laws including BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) compels companies to employ according to racial quotas rather than technical competence or job suitability, and this can result in financial failure.
 
Many farmers who were considering investing in aquaculture have instead chosen to invest their capital offshore due to the insecurity and uncertainty of tenure that the Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC) laws present.  This sense of vulnerability does not encourage confident investment.  Finally, the reporting burden which the State places on farmers and which serves little purpose beyond State control, drags the industry down because these businessmen have to take valuable time out of farming operations to comply with these ever-increasing administrative requirements.
 
3. Cheap imported fish
A challenge faced by many African countries is that the Far East produces fish in earth ponds (i.e. lower production cost), obtains their feed at a fraction of the local cost and enjoys subsidies on exported products.  Consequently,  fish produced in the Far East lands in SA at prices significantly lower than local farmers can produce the fish for.  In truth the quality of these fish is very poor but the low price means that it is consumed primarily by the impoverished.  Local farmers are still able to compete successfully in the fresh, high quality sector of the market.
 
4. Quality inputs
Previously there was only one supplier of aquaculture feeds within SA and they provided a sub-optimal product at an inflated price, making it difficult for local fish farmers to be financially competitive.  Also, the Government only recently allowed the use of certain species of fish that are the global gold standard for aquaculture; historically farmers were obliged to use slower growing indigenous species.  Fortunately, both these problems have been addressed, and consequently quality feed and fingerings are now available within SA.
 
So how to farm fish to feed our people?
We cannot change the climate, but farming in RAS is cost effective and the skills are available locally for large numbers of people to be trained in fish farming using this technology.  There is an urgent need for Government to create an environment that supports investment into the aquaculture sector in which farmers have the long term confidence to invest their capital to mutual good.  Then we will see fish farming growing in SA with the resulting job creation, economic growth and improved food security.
 
… teach a man to farm fish and you feed him and his community forever.
 
References
 
Béné C., Barange M., Subasinghe R., Pinstrup-Andersen P., Merino G., Hemre G. I., & M. Williams 2015. Feeding 9 billion by 2050–Putting fish back on the menu. Food security 7(2): 261-274.
 
Garcia Sampaio F., Hasan M.R. & A-F.M. El-Sayed 2025. An overview on local alternative ingredients, aquafeed supply and feeding management in selected African countries. Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Papers, No. 734. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd5754en.
 
Garlock T.M., Asche F., Anderson J.L., Eggert H., Anderson T.M., Che B., Chávez C.A., Chu J., Chukwuone N., Dey M.M., Fitzsimmons K., Flores J., Guillen J., Kumar G., Liu L., Llorente I., Nguyen L., Nielsen R., Pincinato R.B.M., Sudhakaran P.O., Tibesigwa B. & R. Tveteras 2024. Environmental, economic, and social sustainability in aquaculture: the aquaculture performance indicators. Nature Communication 15: 5274. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49556-8.