2016-11-29Staff Report 2 Query: Ministry of Fisheries, please explain the process of granting fishing rights. Response: In accordance with the Marine Resources Act (Act No. 27, 2000, Article 33), the Minister may from time to time, by notice in the Gazette, announce a period during which applications may be made for rights to harvest for commercial purposes any marine resource, and the conditions on which such marine resource may be harvested. The notice is usually valid for a period of one month. It should be noted that the minister shall not consider any application received outside the notice period. Secondly, applications may only be submitted once the Minister announces for applications to be made for rights to harvest for marine resources for commercial purposes. The invitation usually consists of the following: 1. Name(s) of specie(s) for which right may be applied for; 2. Criteria to be used during the evaluation of applications; 3. Postal and physical address where the applications can be forwarded or submitted, and closing date for applications. Applicants are expected to provide a detailed feasibility study, including market analysis indicating processing and marketing of fish and fishery products; financial analysis is stating the projected profitability of the venture; management analysis, describing the ownership, control and the management of the operations; and technical analysis giving details of vessel(s) and processing factory to be used. Applications may be delivered through the post or by hand to the indicated venue not later than 17h00 of the deadline. As empowered by the Marine Resources Act, 2000, the minister may appoint an evaluation committee to evaluate the received applications. The evaluation may take one to three months depending on the number of applications received. After the evaluation process is completed, the results are forwarded to Cabinet for endorsement. After Cabinet endorsement the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) makes the announcement of the results in the media. The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources then notifies individual applicants about the result. * De Wet Siluka, public relations officer in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, E-Mail: Dewet.Siluka@mfmr.gov.na 2016-11-29Staff Report 2
