Fisheries in the SADC region remains one of the key economic sectors that contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product of Member States. Of paramount importance is its impact on food security, poverty alleviation, and employment creation. Its contributions towards the realization of the aims of SADC as enshrined in the SADC Treat, and in particular on deeper regional integration and poverty reduction, and to that of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. SADC has developed a Protocol on Fisheries to guide the sector. This protocol is a comprehensive legal instrument that has taken into consideration the aspirations of the people of SADC with regard to sustainable management of aquatic resources and their ecosystems, livelihoods of fishing communities, food security and poverty alleviation and an ultimate goal for its eradication, and the need to realize the full benefits of the potential of the sector in the region. This legal instrument is based on modern paradigms of precautionary principles, ecosystem approach and the principles of the International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and those of other International Agreements. 

There are currently a number of programmes, projects and Action Plans that support the initiatives of the SADC Fisheries Programme, the following of which merit special mention:

• Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) Programme

• Benguela Environment Fisheries Interaction and Training (BENEFIT)

• Benguela Current Commission (BCC)

• South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC)

• NEPAD Action Plan for the Development of African Fisheries and Aquaculture