Lake Malawi's Mbenje island protects vital fish stocks with annual fishing ban

Fishermen working off the coast of Mbenje island in Lake Malawi abide by tough rules to help protect precious fish stock.

Only licenced vessels can enter these waters to fish, what's more their equipment must comply with standards to restrict over fishing.

Fishing of any sort is banned for 4 months of the year in the waters off the island to allow spawning and young fish to grow.

The ban is enforced by Chief Makanjira, who is the traditional authority overseeing the island and runs the community based fisheries management team.

Elsewhere on Lake Malawi the ban is only two months and is managed by the Department of Fisheries.

It runs from 1 November to 31 December for small-scale fisheries.

On Mbenje island community based fisheries management team are focussed on expanding opportunities for smaller fishing operations rather than commercial fisheries.

Lake Malawi is the southernmost of the African rift lakes and the third largest lake in Africa.

It has a total surface area of 28,000 km2, it's 560 kilometres long, has a maximum recorded depth 700 metres and is home to over 1,000 species.

After a morning's fishing in his small motor boat fishermen Collins Kamuzu arrives at Mbenje island with his freshly caught catfish.

The auctioneer pay's an agreed price and the day's work is done.

Traditional authority

Fishing practices here fall under customary or traditional authority.

A set of strictly enforced rules have been in place since the 1950s.

The outcome has been a richer source of fish stock than the rest of the lake, and it draws fishermen from around the country.

Collins Kamuzu, from Salima district, has fished at Mbenje island for eight years.

He sells his fish at the island’s auctions to traders who either pack it in ice and send it to the country’s cities, or dry it on the beach in the sun.

Kamuzu explains what some of the island’s particular fisheries customary rules are.

“Here at the island, there are rules. They are enforced. No women are allowed. No beer or any kind of alcohol is allowed here. Stealing is not allowed. If you are found stealing you will be sent off the island. And, no fighting is allowed.”

Gambling, marijuana, or the harming of any wildlife is also prohibited.

Some members of this unique fishing community remain on Mbenje island for the entire open season. When the fishing season is closed the fishermen leave and the island is left without human inhabitants.

All structures on the island are dismantled and removed for the duration of the closed season.

The breaking in fishing allows the fish to breed and the lake's fish stock to be replenished.

A 2025 study published in Marine Policy, indicated heavier fish at Mbenje island compared to several other lake sites, showing optimum growing conditions without overfishing.

This compares very favourably to the rest of the lake which is government managed, many of whose fish species have been overfished.

The IUCN says the in the 1990s there was a 70 percent decline in the populations of a chambo species within a decade and it is critically endangered, along with two other species of chambo also found in Lake Malawi.

'The island is controlled by spirits'

To mark the end of the fishing season, Senior Chief Makanjira holds a closing ceremony every December.

Beyond giving fish enough time to breed and grow each year, Makanjira says the island’s strict rules have to do with the spiritual aspect.

“The island is controlled by spirits. For example, if you kill a snake, or kill a bird, if you kills a frog, suddenly strong winds will arrive. This can go on for two or three months -- because the spirits are not happy. When the wind blows for two months, fishermen can’t go out fishing. That is why we need to keep the spirits happy every day. My forefathers are buried on the island.”

Mbenje island chairman Barabado Yahaya reports back on rule-breakers, amongst the season’s 700 fishermen.

Overfishing is a global crisis, and Malawi’s Mbenje island offers a solution for this small area of southern Africa.