Tough luck for you

Fisheries minister Bernhardt Esau says government will no longer tolerate the selling off of fishing quotas, so people can make a quick buck.He made these remarks at the launch of the Seagull wet fish and longline processing plant, as well the inauguration of the new Seafresh fish factory and jetty by Tunacor in Walvis Bay last week. “I know that there are those who would like to promote the selling of fishing quotas, who are scared of the scorecard, because they have not complied with government policy on value addition. All they wish is to sell and cash in on their quotas,” Esau said. The state-of-the-art N$44 million Seagull Fish Processors Limited facility is a joint venture between Merlus Fishing Limited and nine other fishing companies, seven of whom are new. The N$25 million Seafresh fish factory processes squid into calamari and tubes for local and export markets, and is a joint venture between the Tunacor and Corvima groups' fishing rights holders.Esau said the “culture” of selling off fishing quotas “must stop”. “We will not give quotas for you to sell. The scorecard is coming; it has been approved by cabinet. I have just been dragging my feet, and that will soon come to an end. “We are focused on implementation and I will apply the criteria immediately, without favour. Do not come to me, with 'I cannot meet this criteria, please give me time to adjust'. Adjust now. If you don't have Namibian ownership in your vessels that includes women, war veterans or youth, do it now, before the season starts,” Esau said this past Friday.“To those who have not invested in this sector for the past 20 years, I say: tough luck! Tough luck to those who have not made any investments, who were just traders of quotas - this is the end of the road for you.”He said the sector must be used to develop Namibia. “We must empower our people.”Esau said there is no future for “lone rangers”, who despite not having resources and capacity to invest alone, still complain about working together in joint ventures. “To the big players who have been in the sector for long, the future lies in opening up and working in partnerships with our new shareholders, particularly previously disadvantaged Namibians.”The N$44 million Seagull facility will process, package and distribute seafood products. In addition, N$20 million was invested in a modern ice-making plant, with a capacity of 135 tons of ice per day. The Seagull factory is joint venture between Merlus Fishing, Abroma Fishing, Oryx Fishing, Helgoland Fishing, Ocean Gate Fishing, Osona Fishing, Ehanga Holdings, the Namibia Fishermen's Association, Agatha Bay Fishing and the Namibia Development Trust. The factory will process, on average, 30 metric tonnes of raw fish into high quality consumer products that are ready for local and international markets. It will create at least 200 permanent jobs for Namibians, and mostly for female-headed households. Leandrea Louw

Tough luck for you

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-17

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Tough luck for you

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-17

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