Successes and challenges of fisheries governance in an African wetland fishery: A Case study of fishing camps on the Kafue flats of Zambia

During the last three decades, the Kafue flats floodplain fishery on the Kafue River in Zambia has been increasingly exploited due to more individuals settling in the area and seasonal travellers gaining access to the fishery during flood season. Despite successful governance arrangements that effectively regulated access to fish stocks for many generations, evidence shows that these arrangements are not working as new entrants continue to gain access and overexploit remaining fish stocks. Managing new entrants is a crucial factor in achieving sustainable use. Our objective was to gain an understanding of fisheries governance on the Kafue floodplain fishery, particularly in Shimungalu and Nyimba fishing villages, where different levels of government support for co-management structures produced different outcomes. Our research approach was qualitative, by utilising the snowball sampling technique and incorporating interviews and documentary analysis. Our aim was to investigate discrepancies in the efficacy of resource access and utilisation in the two fishing camps, and to offer recommendations on how governance systems for the fishery could be refined to improve their efficacy. This comparative analysis of the two fishing communities, which share numerous characteristics with various small-scale fisheries in Africa, provides an opportunity to understand how polycentric governance offers a solution by enabling other organisations to fill capacity gaps faced by relevant authorities. The lessons derived from this analysis offer valuable insights into enhancing fisheries governance and future research directions in Zambia, and Africa at large.