The successful management of freshwater fisheries depends on a good understanding of fish migrations, local movements and habitat preferences, especially in complex and variable floodplain ecosystems. Management tasks are further complicated when rivers form international borders between states and/or flow through several countries. This is illustrated by the Zambezi River and its main tributaries, which flow through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique, and border several of these countries. As a result, fish move freely between states and are a common resource shared among several countries. To ensure sustainable fisheries in the Zambezi River, the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, and the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture and Co-Operatives studied the state of the fish resources, the exploitation of these resources (subsistence, recreational and semi-commercial fisheries), and the role of stakeholders, including the socioeconomic infrastructure of local communities. Further, studies were done on the movements and migrations of fish species to determine their availability and presence in the river. In addition, baseline socioeconomic studies were conducted in riparian communities.