Launching the Native Species Aquaculture Alliance (NSAA): Lake Tanganyika & Lake Malawi Stories

How can we grow aquaculture fast without sacrificing biodiversity, wild fisheries and lake ecosystems? This launch webinar of the Native Species Aquaculture Alliance (NSAA) brings together leading voices from science, investment and practice to explore how native and indigenous species can underpin the next wave of sustainable aquaculture.

We look at Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa as living laboratories for a different development pathway: one that builds on local species, local genetics and local value chains – instead of relying on a handful of exotic “global” strains.

🔹 Speakers & topics

00:00 Annemarie Vogelberg – Welcome & Launch of NSAA
Why NSAA was created, what it stands for, and how the Alliance will build a global registry of native species aquaculture companies, projects and partners.

04:57 Dr. Rohana Subasinghe – Global Context & Rationale
How aquaculture has scaled through a few non-native, domesticated strains (e.g. GIFT tilapia), the benefits and risks of that model, and why native species aquaculture is an underused lever in the global sustainability agenda.

14:45 Alex Chetkovich – Case Study I: Tanganyika Blue
Tanganyika Blue’s journey as one of the first commercial farms for Oreochromis tanganicae (Tanganyika tilapia): farm performance (growth, eFCR, survival), the start of a domestication program, and the vision to become a 3,000 t/year anchor farm and regional fingerling hub.

30:26 Severin Spring – Investment Perspective from Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika as a pioneer case: venture and impact opportunities, a sector vision towards hundreds of thousands of tons of native fish, potential ~USD 1 bn annual sector value by 2050, and what kind of capital and partnerships are needed to get there.

46:48 Dr. Imani Kapinga – Science for Decisions
How ROMS hydrodynamic modelling, lake-wide zoning and eDNA-based biodiversity monitoring inform where and how to farm native species safely; insights from Katabe Bay and collaboration between TNC, TAFIRI and SUSTAIN.

1:00:38 David Patrick Nkhwazi – Case Study II: Lake Malawi
Commercial farming of native Oreochromis shiranus on Lake Malawi: Company roadmap and experience, challenges with seed, feed and finance, working with communities, the way forward.

1:12:46 Dr. Suleiman Ihiabe Isa – Genetics & Domestication
Why structured breeding programs are essential for native species to compete with improved exotics, a roadmap for domestication of Tanganyika tilapia (Years 0–7+), expected genetic gains, and how to design breeding as both a public good and investable asset.

1:19:38 Q & A Section

🌍 About NSAA
The Native Species Aquaculture Alliance (NSAA) is a collaborative initiative to:
Catalyse research, investment and policy around aquaculture based on native and indigenous species
Support breeding and domestication programs for native species as a foundation for scalable, resilient sectors
Develop shared tools for environmental modelling, monitoring (incl. eDNA) and responsible zoning
Build a global registry of native species farms, projects and partners and foster collaboration between them

📬 Get involved
👉 Contact the organisers: [email protected], [email protected]

🔎 Tags / keywords (for YouTube)
native species aquaculture, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, Tanganyika tilapia, Oreochromis tanganicae, Oreochromis shiranus, GIFT tilapia, aquaculture investment, sustainable aquaculture, biodiversity, eDNA, ROMS modelling, fish farming Africa, NSAA, SUSTAIN, Tanganyika Blue, The Nature Conservancy, Lake Malawi Aquaculture, FutureFish