Killer ship could be seized

JANA-MARI SMITH Namibia’s environment minister says no permit can be issued for the harvesting of any natural resource, including marine wildlife, in Namibia without the issuing of an environmental clearance certificate.He praised the Namibian public for their continued monitoring of environmental issues, urging them to continue doing so and to alert the authorities if they are worried about criminal activities related to natural resources.“I want to thank the public for being so consistent about talking about this,” he said, referring to the widespread public concern about an application by two Chinese companies to capture rare and endangered ocean wildlife for export to Chinese aquariums.He said he was aware that people were worried, and they should be.“I want to request the public to continue monitoring this so that we are immediately given information if there is any attempt to take any natural resource, whether it is from the ocean or anywhere else.”He invited the public to contact the environmental commissioner with any relevant environmental concerns or suspicions.He said no environmental clearance certificate had been applied for in the case of the marine animal application.Should an application be received, the ministry’s technical officers would not permit such activities unless they are done sustainably.“Any utilisation or removal of natural resources can only be done after issuing an environmental clearance certificate and if we are convinced that the removal of will not threaten those species,” he said.He cautioned that the fisheries ministry could not issue such permit in the absence of an environmental clearance certificate, so “even if they get a permit, it will be invalid”.This week, members of the public discovered that crew on board the vessel Ryazanovka, a trawler that was allegedly modified to allow it to transport live marine mammals, were working on huge purse seine nets while the vessel was anchored near Walvis Bay.The incident prompted questions about whether the crew were preparing to go ahead with the capture although the fisheries ministry remains silent about the status of the application.The Marine Resources Act requires all fishing gear to remain securely stowed away at all times unless a valid licence or permit has been issued to harvest marine resources.Shifeta yesterday said such a permit could not have been issued yet, and even if it had been, it would be a “futile exercise as the relevant authorities cannot grant a permit with a clearance certificate”.He warned that the crew of the Ryazanovka, allegedly owned by the Chinese companies that applied for the permit, should not try to catch any marine wildlife without permission.“That is stealing and we will not tolerate it. By our laws we would then be entitled to confiscate their property,” he warned.

Killer ship could be seized

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-23

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Killer ship could be seized

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-23

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