Fish must be landed, processed locally - president

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah wants fish caught in Namibian waters to be landed and processed locally as part of reforms intended to create jobs and retain more value from Namibia’s N$14 billion fishing industry.

Addressing the inaugural National Fisheries Indaba in Walvis Bay last week, Nandi-Ndaitwah said offshore processing should be reconsidered as the country struggles with high unemployment.

“Let everything be landed. Land it, process it, go and market it internationally,” she said.

The president’s proposed reforms also cover fishing rights, Namibian ownership, transparency, by-catch management and the protection of marine resources.

Nandi-Ndaitwah announced that fishing rights due to expire towards the end of this year and in 2027 would be reviewed before government decides which rights to renew and under what conditions.

She instructed fisheries minister Inge Zaamwani to appoint a neutral review panel consisting of people with knowledge of the fishing industry rather than relying exclusively on ministry officials.

The president also demanded an end to bottlenecks in allocating fishing rights.

“The delay that has been going on in our system has to come to an end,” she said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah also addressed the sale of fishing quotas, saying there is a need to implement safeguards against Namibians who get quotas and sell them to foreign companies.

She also called on fishing companies to provide regulators with the information required to understand and manage the industry properly.

“The industry must be ready to open their books to the regulator, so that the regulator understands,” she said.

Evidence presented about the condition of Namibia’s marine resources is “very sobering”, the president said, and singled out horse mackerel as being under significant pressure.

She also raised concerns about by-catch reporting, saying the figures show it sometimes comes close to the quota allocated for targeted species.

“If you are not giving the regulator the right information, how do you expect the regulator to regulate in a way that will sustain the industry? We might be forced to make a policy that when they say by-catch, 100% should go to the state,” she suggested.

Move with 'urgency'

Zaamwani said the three-day indaba was expected to produce practical reforms rather than repeat previous discussions about problems facing the fishing industry.

“We do not have time. We must move forward with urgency,” she said.

A task force, established after consultations in April, has spent several months on proposals covering marine-resource management, scientific research, fishing rights, harvesting, value addition, employment, aquaculture, technology and diversification, the minister said.

Zaamwani stressed that the proposals did not constitute final government policy but options to assess before identifying priorities, responsibilities and implementation timeframes.

She said fishing rights and quota allocations should reward companies that invest in Namibian factories, jobs and packaging.

“Onshore processing is our most powerful weapon against coastal poverty and structural inequality,” Zaamwani stressed.

The minister also emphasised that healthy fish stocks are the foundation of the industry and that fisheries policies should contain biological limits that trigger catch reductions when stocks fall below safe levels.

‘Respect science’

Fisheries Observer Agency chief executive Stanley Ndara warned that Namibia risks decimating its marine resources if political, commercial and employment pressures override scientific recommendations.

Ndara called for better verification of information recorded by fishing vessels and closer integration of scientific and compliance data.

“Even when fishing vessels go out to sea and captains scribble in their logbooks, what is it that we do? Do we verify that information?” he said.

“We need to triangulate the data we receive from fishers.”

He called for greater use of automatic identification and vessel-monitoring systems and for the agency to be properly resourced to monitor most, if not all, fishing vessels.

Confederation of Namibia Fishing Associations chairperson Matti Amukwa said illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing remains a serious concern because fish removed from the sea might not be adequately incorporated into total allowable catch calculations.

Amukwa warned that scientific advice should not be selectively applied because of political, commercial or employment considerations.

“We have to be consistent and respect science. That is the only way we can grow our stocks, because these stocks are not only for us; they are for future generations.”

Unam's Sam Nujoma Campus director Hilka Ndjaula said: “We need to get back to what our management triggers are and what thresholds we need to monitor, such that when we are reaching tipping points, we have that evidence, and we also have scientific advice that we are able to adhere to.”

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare, who closed the indaba on Saturday, directed the responsible ministers to submit the recommendations to Cabinet.

Cabinet will determine implementation timelines, budgets and the resources required to carry out the reforms.

“The success of this indaba will not be measured by the eloquence of our plenary debates, the depth of our diagnostics, or the thickness of the reports we bind. It will be solely measured by the speed, quality and integrity of our actions," he said.

*Additional reporting by Nikanor Nangolo