A survey was carried out in 2009 in the Caprivi region of Namibia to establish the economic benefits that fishing lodges bring to local communities and the local economy. Five fishing lodges were surveyed and estimates for costs, revenues and fish catch were determined. These estimates were in turn used to inform an economic model designed to provide estimates for the net benefits of the operations. The model itself was derived from an economic model designed by Barnes (2006), which was used to assess the economic impact of tourist lodges more generally in the Caprivi region. In addition to the quantitative survey, a qualitative survey was carried out to assess the current working relationships between lodges and local communities. The results of the quantitative survey indicate that on average fish lodges generate around N$1.80 million total financial benefit per lodge per annum (N$852,000 net economic benefit), equating to N$1,479 per kg of fish caught and not released or N$1,563 per tourist per annum. It is estimated that N$1.11 million of this total is generated on average in the form of wages, with N$1.06 million wages directly paid to members of the local community. This compares very favourably with the income generated from the "nextbest" activity for the area, local fishing, which was estimated to generate (for the equivalent number of employees) a maximum of N$604,000 total financial benefit per annum (N$412,000 net economic benefit) from fish sales. This equates to revenue of N$11 per kg of fish, or less than 1% of the value of the fish caught and not released with fish lodges.