InFish is a professional network to raise the profile of inland fish to inform policy, advance conservation, and promote sustainable fisheries.
Please join us!
Recent relevant news/ publications
- Climate Change Impacts on the Phenology of Laurentian Great Lakes Fishes (Piczak et al. 2025)
- Why inland fisheries matter for social justice (Duker et al. 2025)
- Perceptions of climate vulnerability for subsistence inland fisheries in the United States (Montano et al. 2025)
- A flexible conservation and connectivity tool to inform stream conservation prioritization (Winikoff et al. 2025)
- Effects of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cage aquaculture on water quality in the world’s largest tropical lake (Okechi et al. 2025)
- The Delta: #89 (Global Water Forum newsletter)
- The Stream: July 2025 (Shoal)
- ACARE Newsletter: May 2025
Job / funding / award opportunities
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology - Project coordinator in monitoring of lake biodiversity and ecosystem services. Apply by 21 September for full consideration. Contact Dr Anita Narwani (anita.narwani-at-eawag.ch) or Dr Blake Matthews (blake.matthews-at-eawag.ch) for more information.
- Cornell University - Faculty Member (Asst/Assoc/Full) in Aquatic Health to direct Cornell’s fish health diagnostics and participate in AquaVet. Contact aquaticanimalpro-at-cornell.edu for more information. Application review will begin 1 October.
- Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer (JWO) grant (USD 150k for one single young person)
- Danida Fellowship Centre - New initiative to attract more African students to Denmark and strengthen university collaboration
Inland Fisheries
Freshwater fish provide food, livelihoods, and ecosystem services to millions of people, especially in low-income countries, yet their value is generally not adequately considered in water use, energy, and development decisions. Freshwater fisheries around the world may appear to be very different, but their value to local communities and the threats to their sustainability are often similar.
The challenges to inland fisheries are also critical to the 60 million people who rely on freshwater fish for livelihoods – over half of whom are women. Fish is also an essential source of protein and other nutrients that cannot easily be replaced with other food sources.
InFish & SDG 1
The contribution of inland fisheries to resilient livelihoods, those which are buffered against difficult situations, is multifaceted and difficult to evaluate. Inland fisheries in Low-Income Food-Deficit countries are often part of a diversified livelihood strategy, exacerbating the tendency for them to be overlooked and undervalued. The challenge is in available data to highlight this role.
Grand Challenges
Even with long-standing management and extensive science support, North American inland fish and fisheries still face many conservation and management challenges. Addressing these grand challenges will promote open forums for engagement of diverse stakeholders in fisheries management, and better integrate the inland fish sector into the greater water and land use policy process.
Importance of InFish
Though reported capture fisheries are dominated by marine production, inland fish and fisheries make substantial contributions to meeting the challenges faced by individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape. Inland capture fisheries and aquaculture contribute over 40% to the world’s reported finfish production from less than 0.01% of the total volume of water on earth.