Having been ravaged by the fishrot scandal, Namibia’s fishing industry continues to perform positively with fish exports between January and July this year having totalled N$6.2 billion, Business Express understands.
This is a mild rise in exports when compared to 2021 in which N$6.1 billion worth of fish was exported across the work, representing a rise of 1.3% y/y.
In value terms however, it is notable that fish exports decreased by 10.3% in July 2022, compared to a rise of 28.3% y/y in June 2022.
Commenting on this reality last week, Simonis Storm economist, Theo Klein noted that 2022 could see further growth in revenue suggesting a strengthening industry outlook.
“In terms of quantity exported, we believe fish production could be marginally positive during 2022 as quotas were given out on time. In terms of value, the weaker Rand exchange rate should boost the value of fish exports, improving revenues of fishing companies. However, increased costs (e.g. fuel, shipping, wages, etc.) are likely to limit revenue growth. Overall, we remain positive on seeing flat to marginally positive growth in the fishing sector,” Klein said.
Fish exports are usually one of the top five export products and averages 12.2% of total exports, making this sector a crucial foreign currency earner and export growth supporter.
Namibia’s major export destinations for fish are South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique and Zimbabwe as well as Spain, Italy, Portugal. Namibia’s 200 nautical miles EEZ has a biomass containing about 20 different species.
Cabinet endorses 2022/23 Hake and Lobster quotas
In early decisions may further improve efficiencies within the fishing sector, Business Express can also reveal that Cabinet has endorsed the Hake Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to be set at one-hundred and fifty-four thousand (154,000) metric tonnes (mt) for the 2022/2023 fishing season. The TAC will run from the 1st of November this year to the 30th of September 2023.
Similarly, Cabinet has further endorsed the Rock Lobster Allowable Catch (TAC) to be set at one-hundred and eighty (180) metric tonnes (mt) for the 2022/2023 fishing season. The season also runs from the 1st of November this year to the 30th of September 2023.
Fishing industry value addition concerns
Recently, Business Express reported that the Wet-Landed Horse Mackerel Association’s chairperson, Jason Angala had said that their sector, which processes fish on land and employs more than 80% of the total workforce in the Horse Mackerel industry, is under tremendous pressure.
The frozen on board sector provides less than 20% direct employment opportunities but enjoys the lion’s share of the Horse Mackerel (HM), noted Angala.
“The current price of diesel certainly carries a lot of weight; however the white elephant in the room is that the wet HM sector, from the beginning of the Government’s initiative through the NDP5 policy, was not encouraged with support. The wet HM sector needs exclusive zones, just like everywhere else in the world, to fish successfully. It has been proven that smaller wet fishing vessels cannot operate in the same areas as large freezing vessels because their catching method is different resulting in wet vessel operations being unsuccessful especially during winter months.
“To date the wet HM sector has been trying to negotiate with the Government and various line Ministers without any success. For example: Freezer vessels drag large nets 24/7 over the sea area where HM occurs and freezes everything that lands up in the net. Smaller wet vessels must locate a shoal of fish first before putting their net in the water to catch the specific shoal. This way of catching is much better for the fishing grounds but currently impossible for wet fishing vessels which provide the greater majority of employment in the HM sector,” Angala decried adding that MFMR’s Department of Research shows that the vast majority of shoals of HM occur within the 200m depth where catches are prohibited.
According to the Namibian NDP5, the goals are mainly aimed at formerly disadvantaged, women, youth, marginalized communities and disabled.
“The wet HM sector can fully meet the needs and provide much more work than is currently done by the only 3 companies that support the NDP5 initiative. The wet HM sector is also a threat to the freezing at sea sector because according to the NDP5, freezing quota will have to be reduced to only 30% of the TAC (Total Allowable Catch) of HM from the current approximately 70+% freezer. This is going to undermine the extraordinary profits of the frozen vessels from which only a limited number of Namibians benefit. Once wet HM has grown to 70%, 10,000 new jobs can easily be created directly and 1,000’s indirectly due to land services for the industry,” Angala explained.
The majority of freezer vessels transfer their catches at sea to cargo ships that transport them to other countries without any infrastructure on land benefiting from it and thus Namibia loses millions in extra income and taxes, in addition to job opportunities, Angala further noted.
“Another notable advantage of processing on land is value addition which provides 1,000’s of jobs as well as the creation of new markets. Freezer vessels only do bulk packaging in 20-30kg cartons which basically only supply informal markets elsewhere. On land, various packages are already packed in 800g, 1kg, 2kg for supermarkets, as well as 5, 10 and 20 kg cartons. Then there is the ideal option for canned horse mackerel and more. The product variation is much better the consumer.
“Currently, the onshore sector provides 7-10 times more work than the freezer vessels per ton quota and the current wet sector needs intervention from the Namibian Government in order to continue the noble initiative of the Government in relation to job creation as well as to protect the already N$1 .5 billion invested in the wet sector. There are currently 1,300 workers in the wet HM sector who are now sitting at home due to inoperative vessels. How long can the factories afford to pay workers without any income for months on end?” Angala highlighted.
Fishrot tainted industry
Ten former politicians, businessmen, and lawyers stand accused of bribery and corruption for siphoning off millions of dollars from Namibia’s fishing industry. FISHCOR, Namibia’s state-owned fishing company, allegedly transferred fishing quotas from private Namibian companies to other local companies in which the politicians involved had interests.
Former fisheries minister Bernardt Esau, former justice minister Sakeus Shanghala, former FISHCOR board chairman James Hatuikulipi, ex-FISHCOR CEO Mike Nghipunya, and five other senior officials or business executives will stand trial after their current bail hearings. A 10th suspect, lawyer Marén de Klerk, has been charged but fled to South Africa from where Namibia is battling to extradite him. All have denied guilt.
They were netted through a WikiLeaks trove of more than 30 000 documents, including internal emails, provided by former Samherji employee-turned-whistleblower Johannes Stefansson.