Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI) was established by the Act of Parliament No. 6 of 1980 to promote, conduct, and co-ordinate fisheries research in Tanzania. The idea of establishing TAFIRI came after the collapse of the East African Community in 1977.
TAFIRI centers have different backgrounds. Mwanza Center was a station of the former East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization (EAFFRO) of the defunct East African Community.
Kigoma and Kyela Centers were started in 1973 and 1978 respectively by the Ministry of Tourism, Natural Resources, and the Environment with the aim of assessing the fishery on their lakes. For the first five years Kigoma Center was run in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The three centers were then run wholly by the Ministry of Tourism, Natural Resources and Environment under the Fisheries Division until 1980 when it was felt that these centers could more efficiently be run as a parastatal institution. So TAFIRI was started with a fourth center in Dar es Salaam which became its headquarters. However, the Institute never operated independently until the Board of Directors was named in May, and the Director General appointed in August 1983.