Southern Africa is a 15-member country block, located south of the equator and often referred to as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Region. The SADC, which comprises the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of Seychelles, the Republic of South Africa, the Kingdom of Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Zambia and the Republic of Zimbabwe, has a favourable environment and the necessary natural resources for aquaculture production. Although the aquaculture sector in this subregion is generally regarded as being in its infancy, significant growth has been noted in a number of countries over the past 20 years. Aquaculture development has recently become a priority topic in all of the countries in Southern Africa, as dwindling traditional supplies of fish (capture fisheries) and the potentially positive economic gains that aquaculture can generate (in terms of food security, employment creation, poverty alleviation, improved national economies and other associated socio-economic gains). Namibia, for example, through its Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) is spearheading the development of national aquaculture at the community level in order to empower rural communities to be self-sufficient in food production, and to derive income through fish production integrated with existing and potential agricultural practices wherever natural conditions permit. Similarly, the Government of South Africa, through its national Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and other support sectors is taking steps to accelerate the development of aquaculture production at a commercial level. Other countries in the region, such as Mauritius, Mozambique, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia (including countries with limited surface water resources such as Botswana), have begun drafting specific aquaculture-oriented legal frameworks and are developing strategic plans to support the sector. Until now, very little has been achieved with regard to developing aquaculture in the deserts and arid lands of Southern Africa. A lack of available technical information has caused the concept to be relatively unknown. This fact is probably due to the general belief that aquaculture can only be practised where abundant surface water is guaranteed. This belief has led to the idea that erecting a fish farm in arid lands is costly, risky and, therefore, unsustainable in the long term. Ongoing innovations, through research and development, are gradually modifying this attitude. Potential areas for arid land aquaculture are being identified through the examination of water availability and quality, environmental suitability and provision of technical know-how. Competition for land use in deserts and arid lands is limited since these lands are considered unsuitable for crop production except where irrigation facilities are available or livestock ranching is practised. The ever-rising prices of fish, caused by increasing demand and diminishing supplies, are encouraging private commercial farmers to consider developing aquaculture wherever feasible, including in arid locations where adequate surface or subsurface water is available and easily extractable. Naturally, commercial farmers always seek to establish and operate ventures that realize a sustainable return on investment; their operations are therefore, strongly market-oriented.