The inland fish resources of the Zambezi, Chobe, Kwando and Kavango rivers in Namibia have supported human riverine communities for centuries. Although gillnets were documented as early as 1893 in the Zambezi Region, local fisherfolk used mainly traditional fishing gear and methods until recently. Traditional fishing gear naturally limits fishing effort as it takes time to make the fishing equipment (e.g. fishing baskets), which also needs to be repaired and replaced regularly. Furthermore, traditional fishing gear is not as effective as gillnets.