During the 2021/2022 financial year, the fishing sector has employed 18 105 people who are either employed on fishing vessels or on land-based factories, of which women make up the largest component with 64% of employment in land-based factories, Derek Klazen, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources has said.
Speaking on the occasion marking the official start of 2023 fisheries work calendar last week, Klazen noted that additional efforts in providing employment can been seen through the governmental Objective Employment Redress Program which aims to re-employ fishermen whose jobs were lost as a result of varying reasons.
He also mentioned to date, his ministry has reviewed the Strategic Plan of the 2021/2022 FY which shows that 95% of the targets were achieved.
“Work on the preparation of a draft for 2023/24-2025/26 Strategic Plan has already commenced,” Klazen revealed
COMMUNITY FISHING
At the same meeting, Klazen also noted that the ministry as part of a multi-stakeholder initiative continue to engage fishing communities through local authorities and regional councils of the Kavango East and West and Zambezi Regions in order to assist communities to sustainably manage their fisheries resources.
“We will soon also declare by Government Gazette Maurice Nekaro in Kavango West Region and Nsundwa and Kabulabula in Zambezi Region as community fishery reserves. We have already succeeded with the gazette of 10 such small-scale fisheries management areas since 2016 with more than 2500 hectare of natural inland water bodies and 20 fishing areas under direct community management.
“Recent research indicates that fish stocks in Sikunga Fisheries Reserve in Zambezi Region increased 5-fold compared to adjacent open access fishing areas. This is a major achievement. I would like to thank our staff in the northern regions and the Namibia Nature Foundation with financial support from various institutions like the European Union, KAZA, SADC, EcoFish, US Aid and others on this momentous achievement,” he said.