President engages hard-hit fishing industry

In a long-anticipated visit to the coast, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Vice President Lucia Witbooi, and Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare, along with various ministers, arrived in Walvis Bay earlier this week to engage the fishing industry during a three-day working visit.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said the visit is intended to allow government to hear directly from industry role players, including company executives and workers’ representatives, on the state of the sector.

“Your inputs will help us on how we can carry the industry forward. This working visit is guided by a simple but important purpose: to listen, to understand, and to reflect together on the way forward for this vital sector,” she said.

She noted that the fishing industry has undergone significant changes over the years, with both positive and difficult impacts on employment and livelihoods.

“Over the years, changes have taken place, some necessary, others difficult, affecting jobs, livelihoods and the daily realities of many Namibians,” she said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said concerns raised within the sector require balanced engagement.

“We are not here to play a blame game. We have come to listen with an open mind to those who experience the realities of this industry every day,” she said.

The president also highlighted sustainability concerns around marine resources, warning that declining fish stocks require collective attention from all stakeholders.

“It is you and me who can strengthen and make the industry sustainable. We can only do so if we set aside individual interests and think broadly about the nation and the economy,” she said.

Broad consultations

As part of the visit, the delegation is expected to tour the Vessel Monitoring System Centre, the research vessel Mirabilis, and several fishing factories.

Erongo governor Nathalia Goagoses highlighted the sector’s ongoing contribution to Namibia’s socio-economic development. She said the presence of the high-level delegation responsible for fisheries and labour underscores the industry’s interconnected nature and the need for coordinated leadership.

She also observed that while the fishing industry has long been a cornerstone of Namibia’s prosperity, it now faces pressing challenges.

Earlier this month, the Okapare fishermen once again took to the streets and handed over a petition to the fisheries ministry, stating that their placement under the Government Employment Redress Programme (GERP) has failed them.

These fishermen were allocated to Walu Fishing Company for the 2025 fishing season but claim they received neither salaries nor actual work, leaving them in limbo as the 2026 season begins.

Additionally, at the end of March, fisheries workers called for the intervention of the president, handing over three petitions: two protesting the planned government objective fishing quota auction and a third from Gendev workers highlighting their plight, with some employees left without contracts due to the lack of whitefish production since 2024.

At the end of 2025, a total of 634 employees at Princess Brand Processing were retrenched after the company’s contract to fish in the 200 m isobath restriction zone, under an experimental quota for the past three years, expired.