Why are inland fisheries important?

Millions of vulnerable people around the world depend on fish that are caught from the world’s rivers, lakes, and wetlands. These fish are critical to local communities’ food and nutrition security and to their livelihoods, and they are often woven into communities’ cultural identities.  In some places, inland fish also have commercial and recreational value, and wherever they occur they play important roles in their ecosystems. 

Despite these values, many inland fisheries are poorly understood and rarely considered when development decisions are made around food, water, and energy – decisions with repercussions for freshwater ecosystems, their fish, and the people who depend on them. Until now, there has been no organized, cross-institutional effort to elevate inland fisheries’ importance and offer concrete solutions for their sustainable management.  

Sustainable inland fisheries are only possible if native fish populations and the freshwater ecosystems that support them are healthy. We assert that a truly sustainable fishery is resilient to climate change and other stresses, has sufficient resources dedicated to its management, and its fishers are empowered in that management. And, when inland fisheries are acknowledged to be an essential part of global food systems alongside agriculture, aquaculture, and marine fisheries, they will be perceived not as expendable but as integral to the health and well-being of communities.