Fisheries and marine resources minister, Derek Klazen has said that his ministry has received alarming reports of an increase in incidences linked or with potential links to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) at the northern coastal border.
In a fishing industry address last week, Klazen said that to curb this, the ministry has decided to dedicate up to 50% of control monitoring and surveillance sea operations to the northern border with the Republic of Angola.
“It is our observation that by continuing our efforts in this way, the situation will improve, and IUU fishing activities can be reduced,” he said adding that the Ministry will continue to adapt its surveillance program in response to non-compliance in our aquatic systems.
“The subject of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing has occupied a fair share of media space over the last twelve months; let me reiterate that the Ministry will continue to deploy all resources at its disposal to deter any fishing practices that compromise the sustainability of our aquatic living resources and credibility of our fishery, aiming to combat IUU fishing in our jurisdiction,” he said.
On the inland waterbodies, he also said that he was deeply concerned with the magnitude of illegal fishing activities, to the extent that citizens of neighbouring countries are also culprits.
“I intend to engage my counterparts from our neighbouring countries on harmonizing our laws and enforcement,” he said.
The inland fisheries from Namibia’s rivers, dams and oshanas play a vital role in the livelihoods of around 300,000 rural community members. This fishery currently produces about 6000 tonnes with a value of about N$150 million annually.
“Declining fish stocks in our inland rivers, lakes and dams prompted my ministry to engage communities to manage fisheries resources within their traditional customary land tenure systems legalised through the government gazette. These community-managed fisheries or fisheries reserves created under sections 22 and 29 of the Inland Fisheries Resources Act of 2003, made Namibia a leading nation in Africa when it comes to empowering small-scale fishers in climate-smart governance of tenure and equitable access to valuable inland aquatic resources.
“Research indicated a 5-fold increase in the fish stocks at one of these reserves (Sikunga) as opposed to adjacent open-access fishing areas, thus enhancing food security and improving the nutrition of community members,” Klazen said.