The Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners on 21st November 2025 commemorated the World Fisheries Day in Gaborone, Botswwana, with a focused event highlighting the successes of the Multinational Program for Improving Fisheries Governance and Blue Economy Trade Corridors in SADC (PROFISHBLUE project).
The event served as a platform for learning, knowledge exchange and forging stronger partnerships. It highlighted innovative approaches and lessons learnt to guide in scaling up successful interventions across the 16 SADC Member States. The event offered an opportunity for participants to discuss areas of replication and scalability through national investment programmes, identifying priority investment areas, commodities, and species for future collaboration, capacity development, resource mobilization, and investment facilitation.
In his opening remarks, the Director of Fisheries and Apiculture in the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture in Botswana, Mr. Kagisanyo Bedi emphasised the crucial role of fisheries and aquaculture and commended SADC, AfDB and other partners for creating a platform for learning and exchange of ideas.
On his part, Director of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Domingos Gove, said the SADC Vision, which is anchored in promoting regional integration, economic development and social well-being of which fisheries and aquaculture are critical sectors that offer opportunities for food security, employment and intra-regional trade.
Mr. Gove expressed gratitude to the AfDB for the support towards the successful implementation of the PROFISHBLUE project, which has demonstrated that the fisheries resources can be managed sustainably, equitably and resiliently in the face of climate change and other external shocks, thereby improving the aquatic food systems for the benefit of millions of SADC citizens.
Regarding the World Fisheries Day, Mr. Gove highlighted that this year’s World Fisheries Day, which was commemorated under the theme; Blue Transformation: Strengthening Small-Scale and Sustainable Fisheries, provides an opportunity to highlight the successes made in advancing sustainable fisheries and blue economy initiatives across the SADC region.
Mr Neeraj Vij, AfDB Regional Sector Manager for Feed Africa Operations at the Southern Africa Business Delivery Office, hailed the PROFISHBLUE Project for its achievements, demonstrating best practices in the regional integration of economies, trade corridors and cross-border fish trade.
He highlighted the importance of the fisheries sector contributions towards promoting livelihoods and eradication of extreme poverty and that about 3 billion people rely on global supply chain for this aquatic source of food, contributing to US$300 billion a year to the global GDP.
He reaffirmed AfDB’s ongoing support to SADC Member States through technical assistance, investment projects and resource mobilisation as part of the Bank’s blue economy portfolio development. He informed partners that the AfDB in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is conducting a feasibility study on market clusters for fisheries products and trade facilitation to promote fisheries value chains and blue economy trade corridors in the SADC region.
During the event, women involved in fisheries shared their experiences on how their participation in the sector has enhanced their livelihoods.
In 2022, the SADC Secretariat secured a 9.2 million USD grant from the African Development Bank (ADF 15–Regional Public Goods Window) to implement the Multinational Program for Improving Fisheries Governance and Blue Economy Trade Corridors in SADC, known as the PROFISHBLUE project. The overarching objective is to promote sustainable management and use of fisheries resources within a blue growth framework. Key aims include, amongst others, enhancing food security and reducing poverty through job creation; facilitating intra-regional trade and improving market access for fish and fishery products; and strengthening the adaptive capacity of fish value chains and fishing communities against climate change and other external shocks.
The PROFISHBLUE Project brings together a broad range of stakeholders, including Governments, Private Sector actors, and technical partners such as Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNIDO, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), WorldFish, and the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) to implement a holistic set of activities across the SADC region.
Achievements of the PROFISHBLUE project to date
The SADC region is endowed with rich aquatic resources and a burgeoning blue economy that hold immense potential for sustainable development. Since 2022, the PROFISHBLUE project, has delivered tangible benefits across the SADC region. Some of the key achievements include.
Harnessing the rich aquatic resources to boost food security, create employment, expand trade, and strengthen resilience to climate change and other external shocks.
Contributing to increased production and productivity of fish and fishery products, benefiting around 2 million people along various fish value chains and from local consumer markets.
Strengthening Africa’s share of market value for key processed fish commodities.
Expanding cross-border trade, with volumes exceeding half a million tonnes over the past four years.
Enhancing product quality, market access, and management systems for value chain stakeholders.
Strengthening institutional capacity and trade facilitation tools across the region.
