SMALL FISH PLAY A GIANT ROLE IN THE HEALTH OF COMMUNITIES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Small pelagic (open water) freshwater fishes play a major role in food security and nutrition across sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, these small silver fishes - such as dagaa, kapenta, salanga and usipa - receive much less attention than larger and more economically valuable species. Sometimes called 'poor man's fish' or 'vitamin fish', these species are hugely important to many communities. Due to the high reproductive turnover rate of small pelagic fishes, they may be able to reproduce their own biomass five times or more a year39. As species lower on the food chain, daaga might present an example of a 'balanced harvest'. This is where each level within the food chain is fished proportional to its abundance rather than focusing on large fishes. Alternatively, an unbalanced harvest leads to fishing down the food chain and results in fish catches that gradually consist of smaller and smaller species. Support for what is known as a 'balanced harvest' is growing and may be a more sustainable option for humanity. The World's Forgotten Fishes page 25 Main © Brent Stirton / Reportage for Getty Images / WWF, inset © Roshni Lodhia / Nature Conservancy African Fish Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer Swooping in to catch fish Okavango Delta, Botswana Sub-saharan Africa