Blue economy & aquaculture in Tanzania.

Blue economy & aquaculture

Tanzania is a major inland-fishery producer through Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Uganda. Indian Ocean coastal fisheries add meaningful volume in small pelagics, tuna and demersal species. The Mafia Channel artisanal fishery is high-value for prawns, grouper, octopus and snappers. IUU is severe in Lake Victoria and the Mafia Channel; illegal dynamic fishing and night-time trawling deplete stocks. Exports are significant.

Aquaculture is early-stage with ambitious government targets. Freshwater operations run in inland lakes; marine aquaculture is nascent, with seaweed farming in Zanzibar and brackish-water tilapia along the coast. Feed supply and hatchery capacity are limiting factors. Norwegian fisheries-development cooperation is exploring tilapia hatchery partnerships in the Lake Victoria region.

Dar es Salaam is East Africa's largest container hub. Mtwara is earmarked as the LNG terminal and will see major infrastructure investment. Offshore wind potential exists along the southern coast, with international developers running resource assessments.

The intersection with Saga's mandate is direct. LNG terminal development at Mtwara or Lindi will require dredging, barge corridors and supply-chain coordination — overlapping with artisanal fisheries. Fisheries enforcement is a Norwegian co-fund play in the medium term. Port automation and offshore-wind scoping are longer-term. Aquaculture hatchery partnerships could be co-funded by Norwegian development cooperation, targeting tilapia production for inland food security.