With the third longest coastline in Africa, Mozambique has enormous coastal resources that contribute significantly to the economy, including the provision of social and economic benefits for about half of the national population. In 2009, the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Mozambique contributed to 1.6 per cent of the GDP. The projected fisheries potential in Mozambique is much larger, however, with a yield estimated to lie between 220,000 and 330,000 tonnes.
Coastal tourism contributes about 3.2 per cent to GDP and employs more than 350,000 people.
Other important coastal resources include small demersal fish and pelagic fish which strongly sustain the artisanal fisheries sector. Total capture production in 2017 was around 232 300 tonnes from marine fisheries. The semi-industrial fishing fishery employs over 400,000, of which 2 per cent are women, and accounts for 93 per cent of the country’s total marine fish catch. 91 percent of this total is caught by the subsistence and artisanal fishers, and the remaining 2 percent by the semi-industrial fishing sub-sector
Aquaculture is still a small and developing activity in the Mozambican economy. Mariculture employs around 2,000 people in commercial seaweed farming, 80 percent of whom are women, and less than 1,000 people in commercial prawn farming.
Oil and Mining: Coastal mining is one of the Mozambique’s fastest growing sectors. In Mozambique, the sector is focused on the production of aluminum, coal, titanium, zircon and rutile from coastal sand dunes. Activities in oil and biofuels are currently limited, with only natural gas being produced from twelve wells at the Pande/Temane gas fields. The field’s present capacity is 3 billion m3 /yr, with the government accruing 5 per cent of the revenue from production.
Port and Harbors: Mozambique’s extensive coastline includes ten ports, highlighting the strength and promise of coastal transport in Mozambique.
(World Travel and Tourism Council, 2017)
[2] Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles. Mozambique (2019). Country Profile Fact Sheets. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [online]. Rome. [Cited 6 January 2020].