East Africa’s Fish Trade Expansion Puts Safer Markets on the Agenda

Monday 26th October 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

East Africa’s push to expand fish trade is placing greater attention on the safety and market access of women and young people working along the value chain. A safeguarding assessment commissioned by TradeMark Africa examines risks across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as a wider fisheries programme pursues growth through 2028.

RSK’s published account says its team visited 19 landing sites and fish markets and combined field observations with legal and policy reviews. The work was undertaken over three months in early 2026, so its recent publication should be distinguished from the timing of the fieldwork.

The assessment forms part of support for the Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries Programme, involving TradeMark Africa, the Mastercard Foundation and the AfCFTA Secretariat. The wider programme targets USD 100 million in additional regional fish trade and around 242,000 job opportunities by 2028, according to WorldFish’s account; these remain targets rather than verified results.

RSK identifies the need for practical protection, accessible reporting channels and safer working conditions alongside business and financial training. Its description includes risks of exclusion, exploitation and harassment, without identifying individual alleged perpetrators or providing a basis for generalising about every fish market.

The business implication is that access to a growing market must be usable by the people expected to participate. Training has less practical value when a trader cannot safely reach a landing site, obtain supplies or raise concerns through a trusted process.

Investment in processing and distribution also requires attention to product quality and losses between landing and sale. Related discussions on cooling and other agricultural energy services illustrate why operating models deserve attention alongside equipment. A useful programme evaluation would therefore consider business outcomes and working conditions together, while keeping those measures distinct from the total value of fish traded.

Tanzania’s role in the assessment makes the findings relevant to local market managers, traders and service providers. The next evidence to watch is which recommended safeguards are implemented, how participants can access them and whether independently measured incomes and trading opportunities improve.

Progress reports should separate people trained, enterprises supported and sustained jobs. That would make the programme’s contribution clearer and help distinguish an expanding activity count from lasting economic opportunity.