The Cabinet in Namibia has given the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources the go-ahead to utilise more fishing quotas to secure the active and gainful employment of 212 fishermen previously employed by Saga Seafood.
Saga Seafood is a Namibian subsidiary of Icelandic firm Samherji.
This was revealed by fisheries minister Derek Klazen in an interview with The Namibian on Monday.
The utilisation of quotas for such purposes is provided for in Section 3 of the Marine Resources Act.
Klazen said those who are part of this initiative include the unemployed fishermen who worked on the Saga and Gyser fishing vessels.
Saga Seafood ceased operations in Namibia in March 2020, as it failed to secure fishing quotas to operate its vessels.
It could also not charter the vessels to other companies.
This is after Samherji announced it was withdrawing from Namibia, following the Fishrot corruption scandal exposé.
The Cabinet also directed that Camoposatu Investment/Vernier Investment/Cavema Fishing joint venture and the Rainbow Fishing/Cavema fishing joint venture re-employ the 612 fishermen who resigned at the end of August.