Currently, natural water bodies are being depleted of their resources due to actors like over exploitation and climatic change.

Aquaculture is playing the role of reducing fishing pressure and supplying nutritious fish protein alongside natural water bodies.

However few youth today, are involved in fisheries and aquaculture because fisheries no longer provides sufficient employment opportunities and aquaculture practices are not well known.

It is important for youth to engage in fisheries and aquaculture to ensure knowledge transfer across generations that will promote a sustainable supply of aquatic resources and their conservation.

 Some of the interventions that can promote youth engagement in fisheries and aquaculture include government
support, sensitisations and the ability of youth in transforming challenges in this sector into opportunities.

In order to fully engage youth in enhancing fisheries and aquaculture it is important to identify the challenges that limit their participation in fisheries and aquaculture, address these challenges and identify opportunities in the sector that can enable them make a significant contribution.

The best way of engaging youth in fisheries and aquaculture to identify opportunities in the sector that can enable them make a significant contribution towards its development.
This will enable them look beyond the challenges that inhibit their participation and focus more on the future benefits of obtaining practical knowledge through internships in the aquatic sector.

 Such field experiences will provide youths with skills that can enable them not only secure a future of self-employment but also significantly contribute towards fisheries and aquaculture development.

Currently, more emphasis lies in the aquaculture sector since its practice reduces pressure on the already depleting fisheries resources.
Therefore, the following are some of the possible opportunities for youth in aquaculture and their roles in contributing towards its development.

 These opportunities were obtained by identifying some of the challenges of the fish farmers during field research.

Youth can generate income by supplying some of these inputs to farmers that cannot easily access them.

Youth that have practical aquaculture knowledge can take the opportunity of obtaining an income by providing technical advice to practicing or prospective fish farmers.

Youth are energetic and can easily play the role of mobilising fish farmers in to groups especially those located in remote areas where access to aquaculture facilities is a problem.

Fish has a high market which makes aquaculture a profitable venture.

Youth engagement in fish farming will create a source of income and also supply nutritious animal protein not only to their homesteads but communities.

However, they will have to be in possession of practical aquaculture knowledge or access good technical advice in order to prevent farm production losses.

Very few farmers practice value addition of fish products probably because they don’t have knowledge of how to do it or they cannot afford its costs.

This will enable youth generate an income and also help in reducing post-harvest fish losses in their communities.

Several youth are exposed to modern computer technologies.

They can generate income by using these technologies to designing programmes that can easily link farmers to highly profitable markets.
Youth can engage in writing aquaculture manuals, articles and fundable
proposals.

This aids in information sharing and enables youth to link to valuable
professional network.

It is possible to engage youth in development of fisheries and aquaculture through sensitisations, government interventions and community support.

 However, there is believe that it is our responsibility as youth to take the first step in steering this engagement by actively focusing on how we can make use of the opportunities the fisheries and aquaculture sector has to offer.