At independence, Zimbabwe's major challenge in managing its natural resources was to create an equitable, sustainable and democratic society. In the case of the Lake Kariba kapenta fishery, the government's main concern was to eliminate the inequalities of the colonial era, without compromising the integrity of the resource. Macroeconomic development policies, which were formulated during several socio-political periods, determined the redistribution strategy at any given point in time. Within each development period, a configuration of narratives, and the requirements of conflicting and contradictory state, market and community discourses, directed the process of redistribution. This paper uses an actor-oriented approach to discuss how redistribution affected the governance of fishery, and the political-ecological conflicts the redistribution generated, and a storyline methodology to show how redistribution of rights from white to black entrepreneurs polarised the fishing industry.