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
- For the love of suckers: scientific benefits of engaging volunteers to monitor migrations and advocate for native non-game fishes (Murchie et al. 2024 and some local press)
- Review of the state of the world fishery resources: Inland fisheries (FAO 2024)
- Designing and managing protected and conserved areas to support inland water ecosystems and biodiversity (Moberg et al. 2024)
- The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 (FAO 2024)
- The Stream: November 2024 (Shoal)
- The Delta: #75, #76 (Global Water Forum newsletter)
- WorldFish Waves: October 2024
Job / funding / award opportunities
- ROSES24 A.60 Earth Action: Ecological Conservation solicitation. Notices of intent due 14 February 2025; Proposals due 14 March 2025. Virtual meeting for potential proposers will occur 13 January 2025 (1-3 PM Eastern Time).
- University of Nevada – Reno, a PhD opportunity (spring 2025). Contact Jeff Falke (jfalke-at-unr.edu) for more information
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.