Aquaculture across East African Community (EAC) countries is a modest industry, and at the present the speed of development cannot cope with the expected strong increase in demand for fish and fish products.Therefore, considerable effort is required in order to accelerate the development of aquaculture in the EAC.

The availability of high quality feed is one of the main bottlenecks; others include access to investment and running capital, knowledge for sustainable high productive fish culture systems, and good quality fingerlings. A coordinated approach involving different public and private actors in the EAC region and from the Netherlands is essential in order to realize the aquaculture potential in the EAC, according to Wageningen University, the Netherlands.

The linkages and interdependency of the fish and/or aquaculture value chain across the four EAC countries (Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda) have been analyzed. The biggest fish consumers are Uganda, Tanzania and to a lesser extend Kenya. In order to maintain present levels of fish consumption in these countries, considerable additional quantities of fish are required through aquaculture.