10 November 2021, Rukwa, Tanzania - A woman prepares fresh perch from the Lake Tanganyika to be smoked and sold at her house in Kasanga, Rukwa, Tanzania on November 10, 2021.

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake shared between four African countries. It is the second oldest and largest freshwater lake in the world. Tanzania is Lake Tanganyika's principal producer of sardine, sprat and perch. The small pelagics sector provides an income to 27,000 fishers and 11,000 processors, who mainly rely on artisanal methods. They sell their catch fresh on local markets and landing sites, or smoke or dry it for domestic sale or export. Post-harvest losses are high due to the poor processing and handling methods, while poor fishing methods, illegal fishing as well as climate change are causes of declining yields.

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at making fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable. FISH4ACP is implemented by FAO with funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

In Tanzania, FISH4ACP focuses on sprat, sardine and perch fishing in Lake Tanganyika. FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and TAFIRI has started a value chain analysis while dealing with different value chain actors.