Mozambique is endowed with rich marine resources, having a 2,500 km Indian Ocean coastline. One of the key sectors in the nation’s fisheries provides an important source of livelihood and sustenance to millions of people, besides generating substantial economic benefits. However, the critical fisheries sector has had to grapple with problems pertaining to overfishing, climate change, and poor management practices. These are not only necessary for realising the economic benefits of Mozambique’s marine resources but also for using them in a sustainable manner into the future. This therefore forms the central focus around which the summary revolves with regard to the state of Mozambique’s fisheries, the economic value of marine resources, and opportunities and challenges for investment in the sector.

The fisheries in Mozambique are categorised into three main classes: artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial. The artisanal sector represents the biggest component, about 90% of total fish captures, and employs around 400,000 fishers. It supplies the local market with fish and other marine products, contributing to the food security and nutritional needs of the country, mainly along the coast.

The semi-industrial and industrial are more capital intensive and highly directed towards exporting high-value species that include shrimp, tuna, and deep-water fish. With regards to earning Mozambique large sums of money, the semi-industrial and industrial represented these sectors. The two together accounted for about 4% of the nation’s gross domestic product of US $54,750 in 2022, with exports of fish and fish-related products earning over US $100 million.

Though the fisheries sector is critical to the economy, marine resources are under threat, especially from overfishing that develops because of local and foreign fishing fleets, placing important fish stocks under fry-blow. A United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report indicates that nearly 50% of the fish in Mozambique are getting overexploited, with a few reportedly at the point of collapse. This situation is even exacerbated by IUU, which is estimated to account for 20% of the total catch in Mozambique’s waters.

Marine resources in Mozambique are important for more than just the fishing sector; they also offer enormous potential in relation to tourism, aquaculture, and many other marine-based industries. It is endowed greatly with a rich marine biodiversity: its coral reefs, mangroves, and beds of seagrass teem with a great variety of species and offer important ecosystem services necessary for the marine environment to be called hale.

1. Fisheries and Food
• The fisheries and aquaculture sectors form the bedrock for food security in Mozambique, particularly for coastal communities. Fish represents a significant source of animal protein and supplies approximately 50% of the animal protein consumed. Besides aiding the supply of diets to the local level, these sectors have acted in a leapfrog manner, keeping many people afloat with means of livelihoods and earnings.
2. Aquaculture Potential
• Mozambique has a long way to go in developing its full potential in aquaculture. Given its appropriate coastline and inland water bodies, this country can very well enhance species like tilapia, shrimp, or seaweed. The global demand for seafood continues to rise, and it is mostly aquaculture that carries the sustainable opportunity to serve that demand without adding pressure to wild fishery capture. Aquaculture within Mozambique’s fisheries sector was about 20,000 metric tonnes of fish in 2022, just a fraction of that potential.
3. Tourism and Blue Economy
• It is also important to refer to the attractiveness Mozambique’s marine resources hold for tourism, especially for activities such as diving, snorkelling, and sport fishing. Its coral reefs rank among the most diverse in the world. As already said, they attract many tourists from all over the world, through whose expenditures local economies receive a great deal of support. In this regard, investment in sustainable tourism linked to the sea may serve to further diversify its economy and add jobs for Mozambique while promoting marine conservation.

Investment in the fisheries of Mozambique and the management and development of this marine resource also provides ample opportunity for sustainable economic growth as well as environmental conservation. Key focus areas of investment include:

1. Reinforce Fisheries Management
• Proper fisheries management will go a long way towards the long-term protection of marine resources in Mozambique: the implementation of regulations seconded by the encouragement of application in sustainable fishing methods can stop overfishing. Instituting MPAs for critical habitats will involve investment in systems that monitor, control, and conduct surveillance to fight IUU and safeguard these resources.
2. Expand Aquaculture
• Mozambique has one of the widest potentials in terms of widening its field of aquaculture, which can guarantee an available and sustainable source of seafood and save the pressure that existed in wild fish stocks. Investment in infrastructure, technology, and training of aquaculture farmers can be a strong booster in the industry’s production and competitiveness. Developing value chains related to the production of aquaculture products will result in the creation of employment and increase incomes from hard currency in rural areas.
3. Developing the Blue Economy
• There has been an increasing interest in the blue economy—a method of using sea resources deliberately to sustain increased productivity and improved welfare by combining various marine resources. Investment opportunities created by a blue economy in marine tourism, renewable energy, and marine biotechnology will help auger the diversification of economies and open new growth prospects. Government policies need to include major incentives for investors in the blue economy. The government site offers friendly policies to invest in.
4. Improved Access to Infrastructure and Markets
• Infrastructural development would be at the core of Mozambique’s fishery and aquaculture industries. This would also cover market access domestically and internationally through cold chains, transport networks, and processing facilities. Through such infrastructure, FDI will, in turn, help in cutting back post-harvest losses, enhancing fish product quality, and ensuring that Mozambican fisheries come out stronger and more competitive before world-famous markets.

While these opportunities in investing in the Mozambican fisheries and marine resource management are appreciable, there exist a couple of challenges that require redress:

1. Overfishing and Resource Depletion
• The largest challenge to the sustainability of the fisheries in Mozambique is probably overfishing. This involves requiring robust enforcement of existing regulations, the new management measures, and closer cooperation internationally in controlling IUU fishing. With no effective management, generally, fish stock depletion can theoretically characterize a total collapse of the fisheries sector, which will result in effects that will be felt through the economy and socioeconomically.
2. Global Warming
• The threatening impacts of changes in climate for marine resources in Mozambique; elevations of sea temperatures, ocean acidification, and alteration of ocean currents have the potential to significantly impact fish stocks, coral reefs, and, hence, associated marine ecosystems. Investment in research to improve the adaptive management strategies to reduce the impact of these changes on the fisheries and promote resilience in Mozambique’s fisheries.
3. Lack of capacity and infrastructure
• The lack of adequate technical ability and infrastructure in Mozambique hinders the better control and management of marine resources. There is a need for investment in training programs for fishers, government officials, and other stakeholders to build the relevant competencies and knowledge needed for holding the hand of fishery management on a sustainable basis. Besides, there is a requirement to upgrade infrastructure-related fields: ports, processing facilities, and transport networks that will enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the sector.
4. Financing and Investment Hurdles
• Access to finance targeted for investments in the fishery and marine resource management cannot be assumed as easy, particularly in Mozambique and other countries with low development levels of the financial markets. Like other sectors, this requires an enabling environment put in place through clear regulations, incentives, and mechanisms for risk-sharing.

Such investments in the fisheries of Mozambique and marine resource management are critical to realize optimum economic gains from these resources while ensuring their sustainability. Mozambique can, in this way, build an economically solvent fisheries sector that supports livelihoods, improves food security, portends economic growth, and maintains resilience—if the factors related to overfishing, rising temperatures, and inadequate infrastructure are addressed.

The government should confront management of these marine resources with a lot of proactivity in conspiracy with both the spirit of international cooperation and the private sector. This includes efficient management of fisheries, development of aquaculture, development of the blue economy, and infrastructural improvements. In support of that course, Mozambique will open a way to a sustainable future where marine resources keep forever being an economic and social bonanza through many generations.