Sustainable African Coastal Fisheries: Research Trends, Governance Challenges, and Priority Action Pathways for Resilient Communities

Illustrative Image: Sustainable African Coastal Fisheries: Research Trends, Governance Challenges, and Priority Action Pathways for Resilient Communities
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A recent study by Etta et al. (2025) titled “A bibliometric analysis of the marine fishing landscape in Africa and its implications for sustainable coastal communities’ resilience and governance to the increasing human-environmental risks” published in Anthropocene Coasts reveals a decline in marine fishing research in recent years, with most influential studies led by institutions outside Africa.

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Africa’s coastal fisheries face declining research, fragmented governance, environmental threats, and underrepresentation of social and gender dimensions, undermining sustainability.
– Etta et al. 2025

The study provides a comprehensive examination of marine fishing across Africa’s coastal zones, highlighting its contributions to livelihoods, sustainability, and development, while identifying the key challenges that threaten these benefits. The research analyzes trends in African marine fishing studies, maps systemic and thematic governance issues, and proposes a Priority Action Pathway (PAP) to guide sustainable transformations in coastal communities. Findings reveal a decline in marine fishing research in recent years, with most influential studies led by institutions outside Africa. Research remains heavily skewed toward fisheries science, with limited attention to the social dimensions of fishing communities. Governance is fragmented, leaving coastal communities with low resilience due to outdated ecological tools and weak policy frameworks. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, particularly in West Africa, further undermines sustainability. Gender dynamics are also a concern, as women play significant roles in small-scale fisheries but remain underrepresented in research and policy decisions.

How the Study was Conducted

The study employed a structured, multi-phase methodology that combined a systematic literature review (SLR) with bibliometric analysis to investigate marine fishing dynamics in Africa’s coastal zones. Initially, a comprehensive SLR was conducted using Scopus, covering publications from 1963 to 2024. The search targeted documents related to marine fishing, sustainability, and governance across all African coastal countries, using keywords such as “marine,” “fishing,” “coastal”, alongside country-specific names like Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. The review included a wide range of document types, including articles, books, book chapters, conference papers, and reviews, resulting in a total of 1,066 documents.

Following the SLR, a bibliometric analysis was performed using Biblioshiny in R Studio. Citation data, abstracts, keywords, funding information, references, and author affiliations were extracted to examine research productivity, citation impact, and authorship relevance. The analysis also explored collaboration networks among authors, institutions, and countries, as well as keyword co-occurrence, thematic mapping, and both conceptual and social structures within the research field.

Key metrics from the bibliometric analysis revealed 3,908 authors, 3,013 keywords, a mean of 4.7 co-authors per document, and an annual research growth rate of 7.55%. International collaborations accounted for 45.4% of studies, with an average of 24.67 citations per document and a total of 59,279 references.

This integrated approach enabled the identification of research gaps, particularly in underrepresented areas such as social science and governance, clarified collaboration patterns, and informed the development of a Priority Action Pathway (PAP) to guide sustainable transformations in African coastal fisheries.

What the Authors Found

The authours found that while Africa’s marine fishing sector has immense potential for supporting livelihoods, food security, and economic growth, it faces systemic challenges—including declining research leadership by African institutions, underrepresentation of social and gender dimensions, fragmented governance, environmental threats like IUU fishing and climate change, and limited local resilience—which collectively undermine its sustainability. African coastal fisheries are highly valuable but structurally vulnerable, requiring coordinated research, governance reform, and inclusive, transdisciplinary approaches to ensure sustainable management.

Why is this important

Critical Role of Marine Fishing: Supports food security, nutrition, and employment for millions, particularly women in small-scale fisheries, while contributing significantly to economic growth (exports rose from $7.9B in 1976 to $192B in 2022).

Threats to Sustainability: Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing, climate change, and over-commercialization are degrading marine ecosystems, with vulnerable communities lacking access to modern tools and governance frameworks.

Underrepresentation of African Voices: Most influential research on African marine fisheries is conducted by non-African authors, limiting relevance to local policies and community needs.

Fragmented Governance: Current policies focus narrowly on fisheries science, neglecting social and ecological dimensions, which hinders sustainable management.

Priority Action Pathway (PAP): Offers a roadmap to strengthen regional collaboration, promote transdisciplinary research, empower fisherwomen, and enhance resilience and sustainability in African coastal fisheries.

What the Authors Recommended

• The authors emphasized integrating marine social science with fisheries science to address socioecological complexities beyond biological and economic factors.
• The study advocates fostering partnerships among African coastal countries, institutions, and researchers to share data, innovations, and policy strategies and recognize and support fisherwomen’s roles in value chains and align policies with FAO gender empowerment guidelines.
• Furthermore, they ought to develop inclusive, community-focused governance frameworks and provide accessible tools and training to address climate change, IUU fishing, and other human-environmental risks.
• In addition, establish funding pathways for community-led initiatives, long-term research, and sustainable marine infrastructure to support resilient coastal economies.

In conclusion, Africa’s coastal fisheries hold immense potential to support livelihoods, food security, and economic growth, yet they face significant systemic challenges, including declining local research leadership, fragmented governance, environmental threats, and underrepresentation of social and gender dimensions. Addressing these issues requires a coordinated, transdisciplinary approach that integrates marine social science with fisheries science, strengthens regional collaboration, empowers fisherwomen, and develops inclusive, community-focused governance frameworks. By implementing the Priority Action Pathway and investing in sustainable research and infrastructure, African coastal communities can enhance resilience, safeguard marine ecosystems, and ensure that the continent’s fisheries continue to provide social, economic, and ecological benefits for generations to come.