Namibia’s fisheries sector is healthy and sustainable, both regarding stocks and economically, said fisheries minister Bernhard Esau during his annual fisheries address at Walvis Bay on Friday.
Although the total allowable catch (TAC) for the various sub-sectors during the 2017/2018 season was 3% lower than the previous season, fish products remained the second-largest foreign exchange earner for Namibia, after mining, at N$10 billion during the last financial year.
Namibian fisheries’ total landings range between 510 000 and 550 000 tonnes annually, of which 99,5% are from the ocean, while inland fishing and aquaculture contribute about 1 500 tonnes a year.
Horse mackerel landings constitute about 65% of total landings at 330 000 tonnes annually.
Our research has confirmed that this species is being managed sustainably, Esau told about 500 people gathered here.
The hake fisheries, whose landings are on average 140 000 tonnes, are also said to be in a stable and sustainably managed state, while monkfish, lobster, crab and other fisheries stocks, which are harvested in smaller quantities, have been demonstrated to be stable and sustainably managed.
Esau lamented that Namibia does not fully harvest its albacore and swordfish quota, now standing at 1 168 tonnes.
He reminded fisheries stakeholders of the three-year moratorium on pilchard fishing, which on average represents about 3% of landings, but whose stocks have declined in recent years. The moratorium is hoped to assist in the recovery of the stock.
He reiterated the fact that the challenges faced with pilchard stocks are historical.
In 1995, 2001 and 2006, these stocks were either collapsed or near collapse, and then recovered to some extent afterwards. Therefore, this current phenomenon is not restricted to the last few years.
In imposing the moratorium, I have also instructed my officials to carry out detailed studies, including a determination of the role that our increasing number of seals’ colonies play on the mortality of this fisheries species, and measures that need to be taken to contain the situation, said Esau.
Representatives of the fisheries workers’ unions expressed concern over the retrenchments which followed the technical closure of the pilchard industry, and called on government to supplement the pilchard quota with the horse mackerel quota for processing in pilchard factories to save and create jobs until pilchards recover.
2015 The Namibian