This study investigated aspects of the ornamental fish export trade in Malawi to understand potential impacts of the trade on exploited fish populations in Lake Malawi and recommend measures for management of the ornamental fishery. Information about the ornamental fish export trade in Malawi was sourced from hardcopy file records maintained by the Department of Fisheries between 1998 and December 2019, and semistructured interviews with ornamental fish exporters in Malawi. The information reported in this paper includes ornamental fish capture process and localities of capture within Lake Malawi, the number of ornamental fish exporters, fish export volumes and values in US$ equivalent at 2020 prices, export destinations, temporally shifts in fish collection localities, and the species exported and their conservation status. These results are discussed in relation to the management of the ornamental fishery in Malawi and many recommendations have been proposed relating to the sustainability of the ornamental fishery in Malawi. Since there are many common issues that affect ornamental fisheries worldwide, the findings and recommendations of this study may be applicable for the management of many other ornamental fisheries worldwide.
Keywords: Lake Malawi; cichlids; conservation status; export volumes and value; fish-collection localities.
© 2021 Fisheries Society of the British Isles.