Traditional Fishing in Mozambique: Dhows and Coastal Life

Artisanal fishing in Mozambique is small-scale fishing that provides food and livelihoods. A boat on the beach is a workplace as well as part of the view. This chapter connects the wider coastal story with one practice we can describe directly: the net fishing on EKAYA’s morning with Vilankulo’s fishermen.

A working coast, with people at its centre

Mozambique’s small-scale fisheries support both food supply and employment. FAO’s Mozambique fisheries co-management programme treats livelihoods and management of marine resources together. Its work includes community participation and opportunities beyond catching fish alone.

For a visitor, start by seeing the people doing the work. Ask before photographing someone, leave room around boats and equipment, and wait for an invitation before joining in. The interesting part is not whether a scene looks old-fashioned. It is understanding what the crew is doing and why.

How our Vilankulo crew uses the net

The net on EKAYA’s fishing-with-locals trip is set from the boat, closed into a circle and lifted back aboard. Our experience description explains the sequence:

1. Set the circle. The crew feeds the net out from the dhow around the fishing area. Floats support the upper edge and weights hold the lower edge down.
2. Bring the ends together. Drawing the ends together closes the circle around the fish.
3. Lift the net. The crew raises the net and catch into the boat, rather than hauling this particular net onto the beach.
4. Sort the catch. What comes aboard is sorted, and the crew may set the net again.

That describes our particular experience. It should not be read as a description of every fishery along Mozambique’s coast. Nor should a visitor confuse it with our separate sport-fishing activity.

The dhow as a workplace

A dhow on our local fishing trip is a working boat used by the crew to reach and fish the water. There are no rods on this experience: the shared work revolves around the net. You may watch, or help when the crew shows you what to do.

Look at how the crew coordinates each stage. Where does everyone stand while the net goes out? How do they gather it without tangling it? What changes when the catch comes aboard? These are better questions than assuming every boat is built the same way or every crew follows the same navigation traditions.

The morning is not arranged around a guaranteed catch. Some days the net is productive; other days it brings little. That variability is part of the work you are joining, not a failure to deliver a performance.

Fishing and conservation belong in the same conversation

Fishing methods need to be considered alongside their effects on habitats and wildlife. African Parks identifies fishing-net entanglement as a threat to dugongs and turtles in Bazaruto and describes work with communities and authorities to reduce deaths. Traditional is not, by itself, a guarantee that a method is harmless. Bazaruto conservation context

There is current local work behind that conversation. FAO reports a 2024 fisheries co-management agreement and a 10 March 2026 workshop in Vilankulo, with community fisheries councils helping local fishers participate in management decisions. FAO’s March 2026 report

Read the marine-life chapter alongside this guide. The living sea and the working sea occupy the same space. Understanding both makes the coast more interesting, and gives you better questions to ask when choosing an activity.

Join in respectfully

The best way to participate is to follow the crew’s lead and understand the activity before booking. Read the full fishing-with-locals page for current arrangements. A share of the experience fee goes directly to the fishermen; the product page is the place for the operational details.

Ask permission for close-up photographs, keep equipment out of the crew’s way, and do not handle tools or the catch without guidance. If you mainly want to relax under sail, compare the sunset dhow experience instead. For the connection between catch and table, continue to the Mozambican food guide.

Still not sure?

EKAYA can explain which fishing experience fits the morning you have in mind. Contact us with your questions, or keep reading through the Mozambique travel guide.

Last reviewed: 6 September 2026. Sources: EKAYA’s fishing-with-locals product details; FAO’s Mozambique fisheries programme and March 2026 project report; African Parks’ Bazaruto account. The net description is specific to our experience, not a nationwide claim about fishing techniques.