When thinking of Africa, especially East Africa, it is easy to conjure up scenes of wildlife and safaris. Less well-known is that this region boasts large and abundant inland water reserves, including Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake and the world's largest tropical lake. Lake Victoria is roughly the size of Ireland and feeds the mighty Nile River – the world’s longest river.
When one adds a warm tropical climate, an abundant marine environment on the East coast of Africa, and a well-developed society and growing population, then it does not take long to ponder the question: …and aquaculture?
Indeed, East Africa is the fastest-growing node for aquaculture on the African continent. This is predominantly a result of the farming of tilapia, but several other species contribute to the sector. East Africa is also a world-leading region in the farming of seaweed, with exciting developments around several other marine species such as sea cucumber and more.
The EU-funded TRUEFISH Project, which seeks the advancement of aquaculture in the Lake Victoria basin, showcased the region to the World Aquaculture Society (WAS) Board in 2022, which was well accepted and led to the pinning down of June 2025 as a suitable date for an aquaculture conference in the region. This in turn led to the signing of a hosting agreement between WAS and Landell Mills as an implementing partner of TRUEFISH.
Selecting the shores of Lake Victoria for an aquaculture conference was easy. However, the only lake city that offers direct flights to major international air travel hubs, is Entebbe in Uganda. A mere 38 km from the airport, on good quality and uncongested roads, lies the Speke Resort Munyonyo, a world-class conference and exhibition facility on the shoreline of Lake Victoria.
Through Egypt (2022), Zambia (2023) and Tunisia (2024), the African Regional Aquaculture (AFRAQ) Conferences have shown steady growth. It is however important to emphasize that Aquaculture Safari’25 is a World Aquaculture Conference incorporating both the continental event and the showcase world event.
World Aquaculture Safari’25 will address key African topics such as tilapia and catfish production, however, the conference will cater to a global audience covering a diverse range of papers, meetings, discussions, workshops and more. Commitments of participation have been received from the FAO, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, GIZ, the African Union and others. Moreover, the trade show and exhibition promise to assemble the largest selection of aquaculture goods and service providers under one roof, in Africa, to date.
Participants will range from academia to state officials, from technology providers to students, from farmers to fish buyers and exporters, and more. Apart from papers from across the world, plans are also afoot for an extensive farmer’s day, several side events such as an aquaculture investment and a seaweed workshop, and a field day to some of the largest fish farms on Lake Victoria. African countries will also showcase their aquaculture sectors in the trade show, allowing for global networking.
Under the theme “Aquaculture on the Rise”, the World Aquaculture Safari’25 aims to showcase the aquaculture industry in Africa and globally, forge international collaborations and linkages, in areas such as research, development, species, feeds, investments, markets, trade and more, and unify the global aquaculture sector.
For international visitors, the tourism opportunities before and after the conference are limitless. These include trekking for gorillas and chimpanzees (get your permits early!), visiting some of Africa’s famous Big Five game reserves in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, visiting or rafting the Nile River, witnessing the majestic Murchison Falls, seeing Mount Kilimanjaro or the tropical seas of Zanzibar.
Africa awaits its international aquaculture guests with excitement. Registration is now open as well as abstract submission. Find more information at www.was.org. For all inquiries, contact etienne_hinrichsen@landell-mills.com or africanchapter@was.org. For more information on the exhibition and event sponsorships, contact worldaqua@was.org.
