… fisheries exports over N$5.1 billion
WALVIS BAY – The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernard Esau, has called for the responsible management of the Atlantic horse-mackerel industry, as well as the continuous assessment of management systems to promote responsible exploitation of fish stock.
Esau was speaking at the official opening of a two-day national workshop on horse-mackerel management currently underway in Walvis Bay. He said although there are management systems in place, existing polices are outdated and need to be revised from time to time.
According to Esau the horse-mackerel industry is one of the most valuable fisheries in Namibia. “The final value of exports in the fishing sector stood at N$5.1 billion for all Namibian fisheries by 2011. Half of that or N$2.5 billion was generated through horse-mackerel, which clearly indicates that the horse-mackerel industry is the second largest economic contributor in terms of the fishing sector,” the minister explained. He further said apart from being a major economic contributor, horse-mackerel is the most commonly consumed fish species in the country. “We can see the importance of horse-mackerel to our nation and how vital it is to manage it properly. Thus we need to ensure the responsible and sustainable utilisation of the resource itself. Without the horse-mackerel fishery, the fishing industry and its benefits to Namibians will be compromised,” remarked Esau.
He added that his ministry has been in the process of developing management system plans for the different fish stocks. Said Esau: “The first one was the hake fishery and today we are deliberating on horse-mackerel management. This will allow us to draw up one document that will bring together all relevant policies for the horse-mackerel fishery.” According to him the guiding tool will in detail outline how the horse-mackerel fishery will be managed for the next four years and will also identify value addition of the fishery.
“In spite of being hailed a success story by our overseas counterparts I have noticed that our policies are contained in different documents and this makes it difficult to assess them as much as we should. The document will outline the goals we have for horse-mackerel and derive its underlying basis for Vision 2030. The plan will also set appropriate objectives and sustainable strategies in order for us to achieve our long-term management goals. It will also provide performance indicators, which will enable us to measure and track achievements of the fishery,” the fisheries minister said.
By Eveline de Klerk