Market Intelligence
Agribusiness Angola

Angola Fisheries Sector

Exploring Opportunities for U.S. companies in Angola’s Fisheries Sector 

Market Overview

Located at the southern part of Africa, Angola has a 1600 km Atlantic Ocean coastline and a huge potential to develop their fisheries sector. Angola was a leading fish exporter during the colonial era until the mid-1970s. Unfortunately, Angola lost its fisheries capacity and ex-pertise after independence and due to the protracted civil war until 2002 that destroyed most of the fisheries and maritime infrastructure. Fisheries development is a key govern-ment initiative that is outlined in the 2023-2028 Angola National Development Plan. There-fore, the Angolan Government is prioritizing development of the fisheries sector, both coastal and aquaculture value-added production, with support from the African Develop-ment Bank and the United Nations to meet their economic objectives.

Fish production in Angola

In 2022, the fish production volume was about 400,000 tons, including industrial, semi-industrial, artisanal, continental, and aquacultural activities. Most semi-industrial and indus-trial fishing is based at the following four seaports: Namibe, Benguela, Porto Amboim, and Luanda, although some fishing activity extends to the Zaire and Cabinda provinces in the north.  Companies from Poland, Portugal, Spain, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Ita-ly are active in the fisheries business in Angola.  Industrial fisheries in Angola are undertaken as joint ventures. This sector controls about 70 percent of the Total Allowable Catches (TAC).

There is a large artisanal fishing fleet in Angola with around 100,000 people earning their living in the fisheries sector, including 50,000 artisanal fishermen organized in groups that fish in teams and share equipment and profits.  The coasts of Benguela and Luanda provinc-es have the greatest concentration of artisanal fishing and are in the most need of technical and capacity assistance.  As a result, the Angolan government (Ministry of Fisheries and Ma-rine Resources) is providing microcredit loans, technical training and localized support cen-ters, regional processing, cold storage, boat and gear maintenance facilities, and updated docks to improve production quality and the standard of living in artisanal fishing communi-ties. In addition, several private sector aquaculture farms are under development like Sol-mar, AFF – Ventura Industrial, Atlantico Foods Lda, etc.  

Aquaculture in Angola

Aquaculture production in Angola is currently modest, with a focus on tilapia and catfish, but government efforts are underway to expand production, supported by a US$ 11.1 million loan from the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development.  By 2018 and 2019, Ango-lan authorities sought to achieve more than 700,000 tons and 715,000 tons of production per year through small-scale communal ponds and a limited number of medium to large-scale commercial aquaculture operations. Unfortunately, the government was unable to meet these goals due to lack of inputs such as feed and chemicals and overall investment in the sector. Despite these shortcomings, aquaculture is still a national priority area for the government of Angola.

Market Opportunities

Commercial sale opportunities exist for U.S. equipment and technology providers in the are-as of aquaculture cultivation, small-scale fishing equipment, fish processing, cold chain equipment, and logistics services. In addition to U.S. companies seeking fishing licenses to fish and export, the Government of Angola is looking for U.S. technologies to re-develop this important sector.  

Key opportunities exist in the following areas:

  • Vessels and equipment suited for small scale fisherman (less than 14-foot vessels)
  • Vessel tracking and rescue solutions
  • Aquaculture production technologies, chemicals, feed, and equipment
  • Fish processing and storage (cold chain storage) equipment
  • Technical support and training
  • Boat and gear maintenance
  • Updating docks/terminals
     

Next Steps

For more information about the opportunities in the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector and to design your market-entry strategy for Angola, please contact Commercial Specialist Ma-nuel Cafala at Manuel.Cafala@trade.gov.