InFish is a professional network to raise the profile of inland fish to inform policy, advance conservation, and promote sustainable fisheries.
Please join us!
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
- The Future of Aquatic Food Systems: Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Strategies - A Narrative Review (Mequanent et al. 2026)
- Invasion–food security trade–offs in African inland fisheries: multi–year evidence from native and non–native fish assemblages in a subtropical reservoir (Kwenda et al. 2026)
- Improving fishers' livelihoods through integrated inland fisheries management in Nam Xouang Reservoir, Lao PDR (Phommakone et al. 2026)
- Freshwater Recreational Fisheries as a Social–Ecological System in Transition: Perceived Barriers, Resource Conditions, and Governance Challenges in Poland (Kupren et al. 2026)
- The Integration of Fire Ecology and Freshwater Ecosystems in North America: Knowledge Gaps and Research Needs (Piczak et al. 2026)
- Consequences of roads and traffic-related stressors on freshwater biodiversity (Algera et al. 2026)
- Inland recreational fisheries harvest far exceeds reported inland harvest in the United States (Robertson et al. 2026)
- Fisheries sustainability: Perceptions from the ninth World Fisheries Congress (Stokes et al. 2026)
- Migratory freshwater fish are in trouble: Will we act in time to save them? (Lovgren 2026)
- Applying food systems thinking in recreational fisheries: The case of shore fishing in Detroit, Michigan (Rice et al. 2026)
- A Roadmap for Implementing the Emergency Recovery Plan for Freshwater Biodiversity (Cooke et al. 2026; plus full special collection)
Job / funding / award opportunities
- Social-ecological research group (IFishMan) at Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany - start date 1 January 2027. M.Sc. required. For more information, contact Robert Arlinghaus (robert.arlinghaus-at-igb-berlin.de).
- Social Science position to look at human dimensions of urban recreational fisheries in Berlin.
- Fisheries Scientist position to complete an assessment of the catch effectiveness of forward-looking live sonar in recreational fisheries.
- University of Canterbury, NZ - Angus McIntosh and Helen Warburton have 4 fully funded PhD scholarships in freshwater ecology available. See here for more information.
- Cornell University –
- Fully funded 4.5-yr PhD assistantship, NY Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit to study juvenile Atlantic salmon ecology and restoration across Lake Ontario tributaries (contact Christopher Sullivan, cjs446-at-cornell.edu)
- Senior Research Associate to lead the Oneida Lake long-term research program. For more information, contact Olaf Jensen (olaf.p.jensen-at-gmail.com).
- Stanford University - Heilpern Lab opportunities for PhD students and Postdoctoral Scholars. Contact Sebastian Heilpern (heilpern-at-stanford.edu) with inquiries.
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.