Publication: Fish of Africa and Water Peoples

Africa has always fueled our dreams of adventure and untamed wilderness, and while Africa’s large mammals are indeed known to all, its aquatic fauna remains largely unknown to the general public. Yet many peoples living along Africa’s rivers make their living from fishing and maintain ancestral ties to the aquatic world, which they have woven into their rich cultural heritage. It is this unique world that readers are invited to discover through this book. From the origins of species and the first naturalist inventories to traditional fishing methods, covering the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of the major families, the book offers a comprehensive and richly illustrated overview of African fish. Through ancestral symbolic and artistic representations, as well as by exploring current developments in fishing, fish farming, and aquarium keeping, the reader discovers how the history of fishing has deeply permeated African societies. As the first book dedicated to the cultural history of African fish, it offers a unique account of the close relationship between the peoples of the water and their natural environment in Africa.