Brown trout were imported into Africa between 1890 and 1967 for sport angling. There is evidence for establishment in some high altitude streams in Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. Available evidence suggests that brown trout populations are declining, partly as a result of changing instream conditions due to human mediated impacts and sport fisheries in the region are often dependent on annual stocking to artificially maintain fisheries in rivers, lakes and impoundments. Their presence has resulted in not only the development of sport fisheries and associated economic activities, but also resulted in negative impacts on native biota. Impacts on aquatic ecosystems, mediated through dietary interactions, have been linked to the decline, and in some cases local extinction, of native invertebrates, frogs and fish which have been shown to result in cascading impacts on leaf litter decomposition rates and ecosystem subsidies. As a result, management is necessary. South Africa for example, has been developing legislation to manage brown trout populations. The process has however been complicated by the conflicting agendas of the development-driven private enterprises vs the conservation driven agendas of local Nature Conservation authorities.
