The Department of Fisheries is under Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. The Department  is situated in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. The department has it's vision and mission to achieve its objectives as it carries out its day to day activities to utilize any available opportunities. To achieve all these the department has an action plan which will guide it

The Vision
“To be a dynamic, high performance, consultative and client focused Ministry that promotes, builds and ensures sustainable development, utilisation and management of the environment and natural resources in Malawi”

The Mission
To provide framework conditions and excellent services for the maximisation of socio-economic benefits through sustainable utilisation and management of capture fisheries and increased aquaculture production.

Objectives

• Strengthening user institutional capacity for fisheries resource management and governance.

• All fisheries are managed according to operational management procedures .

• Update legislation and policy in line with other national policies and legal instruments

• Restructure, reorganise and strengthen Department of Fisheries for effective internal, national and international communication.

Opportunities

• Untapped resources (deep water)
• Decentralisation policy in line with co-management objectives
• Political will and support
• Donors are willing to support the fisheries sector
• Multi-sectoral coordination
• Importance of NRM in the PRSP clearly stated
• International conventions/protocols require commitments from GoM

1.Action Plan

Our department will make strategic contributions to the Ministry’s goal and objectives. This section presents our Action Plan, which details how we will contribute towards each of the stated goals, which are themselves, the Ministry’s objectives. The Action plan highlights our major roles and responsibilities in the next five years. It shows the departmental objectives by goal, the strategies to achieve each objective, the actions to be undertaken to meet the strategies and points out the key responsible authority for each action. Furthermore, the plan outlines our targets and expected outputs including a time scale and resources requirements for each objective.

In devising our plan, we have foresight for changing the way we do things today and focussing more on how we can effectively raise our impact on poverty reduction. We summarise our major areas of these changes below.

1.1 Major Areas In Capture Fisheries

• Enhanced production: Focus on unexploited resources plus improving efficiency of production for both large and small scale fishers.
• Post harvest: Focus on value adding plus processing
• Marketing: Focus on improved infrastructure

1.2 Major Areas in Aquaculture

• Enhanced productivity: Focus on identification of viable indigenous species.
• Development of management regimes for different culture system
• Conflict resolution
• Promotion of intensive fish farming
• Develop technology to promote restocking
• Identify viable and acceptable exotic species – using acceptable guidelines

1.3 Development of Fisheries Management Plans

With A Focus on Generation of Information on:

    • Resources assessment – for unexploited stocks
    • Status of exploited stocks – monitoring
    • Development of management plans

1.4 Implementation of Management Plans

For Both Capture Fisheries and Aquaculture with a Focus on:

• Dissemination of research results in the management plans i.e. extension
• Promotion of sustainable production in the capture fisheries
• Promotion of effective enforcement of capture fisheries – distinguishing the roles of central government and local government

1.5 Empowerment of Local Fisheries Management Authorities

• Devolution of power to District Assemblies (local fisheries management authorities)
• Facilitate the formation of local organisation
• Development and signing of management agreements.

Department of Fisheries,

P.O. Box 593, Lilongwe, Malawi,
Tel: 265 1 788 511, 788 716
Fax: 265 1 788 543