In terms of economics, fish is a ‘free good’ to be gathered by anyone without licence in Lake Chilwa. By the simplest gear made from local fibres into basket traps or nets, by line fishing or spearing, any man has the means of supplying food to the household, of bartering fish for other goods or selling the catch for a little cash. Then with a little capital (usually obtained by earning elsewhere) a boat may be acquired which gives a man the opportunity of becoming a full-time fisherman or a specialist fish trader collecting catches from outlying parts of the lake. The full-time fisherman may extend his enterprise by hiring labour to work more sophisticated gill or seine nets and the fish trader may process larger hauls of fish and sell in bulk.