Standing tall in Lüderitz
Marco Fishing is the only longline company still actively operating in Lüderitz today.
A merger with Mekarilakha Fishing in 2016 made it possible for Marco Fishing, one of the smaller hake quota holders, to steadily increase its focus on value addition and the workforce of the company over the past few years.
In this time, investments valued in excess of N$100 million have been made into three purpose-built longline vessels, a new state of the art processing factory, offices, stores, a cold store and polystyrene box factory.
The three longliners are relatively new vessels, all built after 2000.
Marco Fishing catches its hake by longlining as opposed to hake trawling. While longlining is a more costly method, it has the advantage that the quality of the fish is better than hake caught via means of trawling.
After being caught, the fish is gutted, iced and stored in the hold. The hold temperature is maintained between -1 and 1°C.
After catching for a week the fish is landed. Part of the fish is sorted in the factory and packed in polystyrene boxes to be trucked to the airport and flown to Spain.
In Spain this fish is distributed as “PQ’s” (high quality) to mostly supermarkets where fishmonger counters display the Namibian-caught longline hake for its customers to buy.
The remainder of the fish is processed on land in the newly upgraded and expanded factory of Marco Fishing.
The company expanded and upgraded its factory in 2017 and now has the ability to produce a wide range of frozen products ranging from skin on pouched fillets to skinless and individually quick frozen (IQF) portions.
Further to the increased job creation over the last number of years, Marco Fishing also remains committed to the fishing industry’s responsibility towards corporate social investment.
The company established the Marco Charitable Trust in 2016. The board continues its support of the trust by regular donations.
The work of the trust is recognized widely in the community. In the 12 months from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019, the trust donated in excess of N$500 000 to beneficiaries, focusing largely on education in schools and tertiary institutions, churches and community projects, entrepreneurs and tourism, sport and cultural events.
In this time, investments valued in excess of N$100 million have been made into three purpose-built longline vessels, a new state of the art processing factory, offices, stores, a cold store and polystyrene box factory.
The three longliners are relatively new vessels, all built after 2000.
Marco Fishing catches its hake by longlining as opposed to hake trawling. While longlining is a more costly method, it has the advantage that the quality of the fish is better than hake caught via means of trawling.
After being caught, the fish is gutted, iced and stored in the hold. The hold temperature is maintained between -1 and 1°C.
After catching for a week the fish is landed. Part of the fish is sorted in the factory and packed in polystyrene boxes to be trucked to the airport and flown to Spain.
In Spain this fish is distributed as “PQ’s” (high quality) to mostly supermarkets where fishmonger counters display the Namibian-caught longline hake for its customers to buy.
The remainder of the fish is processed on land in the newly upgraded and expanded factory of Marco Fishing.
The company expanded and upgraded its factory in 2017 and now has the ability to produce a wide range of frozen products ranging from skin on pouched fillets to skinless and individually quick frozen (IQF) portions.
Further to the increased job creation over the last number of years, Marco Fishing also remains committed to the fishing industry’s responsibility towards corporate social investment.
The company established the Marco Charitable Trust in 2016. The board continues its support of the trust by regular donations.
The work of the trust is recognized widely in the community. In the 12 months from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019, the trust donated in excess of N$500 000 to beneficiaries, focusing largely on education in schools and tertiary institutions, churches and community projects, entrepreneurs and tourism, sport and cultural events.
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