Fisheries and Marine Resources minister, Derek Klazen has asked the National Assembly to approve a budget of N$321.4 million for his ministry, Vote 22, which he says will enable the ministry to carry out its mandate.
The mandate of Vote 22 is to responsibly, conserve, protect and promote marine resources in a sustainable manner for the benefits of the current and future generations as embedded in Article 95(l) of the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia.
Klazen highlighted that the largest chunk of this allocation, being, N$291,447,000 is earmarked for the operational budget while the remaining N$30,000,000 will be directed to developmental projects.
“The annual appropriation for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources will be executed under six programmes,” he said.
The first programme is survey and stock assessment which Klazen seeks N$64,464,907 for the 2024/2025 financial year, with N$3 million allotted to the development budget.
This programme is responsible for the sustainable management of marine fish stocks through scientific surveys. The data obtained from the scientific surveys is used to determine the biomass of all Total Allowable Catch (TAC) regulated commercial fish species and marine resources, providing scientific advice on the sustainable harvest levels and other relevant management measures.
To this end, the Ministry intends to conduct routine scientific surveys and field activities during the 2024/2025 financial year to enable the collection of the necessary data and ensure continuity of the time series trends, as well as to monitor the state of the marine environment.
“These trends and biological parameters are critical in determining the population dynamics and abundance of commercially important stocks, such as hake, monk, horse mackerel, pilchard, deep-sea red crab, rock lobster, orange roughy and seals to obtain best scientific advice for the setting of the annual Total Allowable Catches (TACs) required for the sustainable utilisation of these species, as prescribed by the Marine Resource Act, Act 27 of 2000 and several international instruments.
“In order to conduct research activities and assess the annual status of the living marine resources, the Ministry uses research vessels and, in some instances, hires private vessels for routine coastal monitoring and data collection. The ministry requires funds for fuel, repairs and maintenance of the two research vessels, as well as for research equipment and other operational costs associated with the operations of these vessels, including the maintenance of research infrastructure,” Klazen said.
during the 2023/2024 financial year, the ministry conducted seven biomass surveys for the TAC regulated fish stocks. During 2024/2025 financial year however, the ministry will commence with the renovation of the National Marine Aquarium in Swakopmund, under this Programme. The Aquarium was inaugurated in 1995 and major repairs and renovations are required to extend the lifespan of this facility.
The second programme is human resources development which Klazen seeks N$70,928,015 for the 2024/2025 financial year inclusive of N$6,400,000 for the development budget.
The purpose of the Human Resources Development programme is to provide support services focusing on activities related to training, procurement, financial and human resources management.
“It is common cause that the management of marine and inland aquatic resources requires highly technical skills as such the Ministry continuously needs to ensure that the necessary resources (financial and human) are available for effective and efficient service delivery,” he said.
The third programme is marine and inland monitoring, control and surveillance which requires N$100,164,336, of which N$15 million is allocated to the development budget.
The programme; Marine and Inland Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, is entrusted with the protection of the resources through ensuring compliance with the provisions of the statutory instruments, policies and directives that govern and regulates fishing practices using patrol vessels, airplanes and vehicles.
During the 2023/2024 Financial Year, the Ministry conducted nearly 2,000 patrols and inspections within the national jurisdiction, amidst challenges and constraints encountered. A total of 505 fines were issued and 13 criminal cases were opened at various police stations across the country.
“In order to enable great success in implementing these activities, the Ministry collaborated with other national Offices, Ministries and Agencies (such as Namibian Navy and the Namibian Police) and private entities to combat Illegal Unregulated and Unreported fishing. These efforts will be continued into the 2024-2025 financial year to sustain credible MCS programme implementation strategy in order to meet set objectives. As such, the financial resources required for this programme will fund the maintenance-and-repairs of patrol vessels, airplanes and vehicles to ensure availability for deployment and inspections,” he explained.
The next programme is aquaculture and inland fisheries which Klazen seeks N$61,197,445 of which N$5,6 million is allocated to the development budget.
The purpose of this programme is to create a conducive environment for the development of aquaculture, increase income generation, enhance food security, reduce poverty, create employment, improve rural livelihoods at household levels, and increase sector investment and to ensure optimal utilization of inland fisheries resources.
The ministry operates various aquaculture and inland fisheries centres, which provide support services to fish farmers and communities across the country. During the 2023/2024 financial year, funds allocated to this programme were utilised to implement aquaculture research and monitoring programmes, provide extension services to fish farmers and communities, procure fish feed for the production of fish and covered the costs of distribution of fish and fingerlings nationwide. Furthermore, the funds were used to carry out research and fish biological surveys on our rivers and dams.
During the 2023/24 financial year 580 tons of fish, nine hundred and twenty-seven thousand two hundred and sixty -nine 927,269 fingerlings were produced, while one hundred and ninety-two (192) small scale fish farmers and students were trained. The wild capture inland fisheries sub-sector landed an estimated 2,500 tons.
“The ministry also conducted six (6) biological surveys on the Zambezi, Kwando, Kavango and Orange Rivers as well as research on various water bodies to determine the status of inland fisheries in the country. The ministry has further gazetted additional small-scale fisheries management/protected areas (known as Fisheries Reserves) on the Kavango River in Kavango East Region at Joseph Mba-mba-nga-ndu Conservancy. This management area includes ten (10) individual fishing areas for sustainable management by the communities themselves. As such, the ministry will require funds to continue the activities of research and extension services as well as to upgrade infrastructural projects at various fish farms,” Klazen said.
Last but not least, Klazen seeks funding for the policy and economic advice programmes where he seeks N$17,247,297 for the operational budget.
The purpose of this Programme is to coordinate policies and provide advice on the socio-economic performance of the fisheries sector. The Programme administers the management of fishing rights, analysis of socio-economic impact of gazetted Total Allowable Catches (TAC’s), allocation of fishing quotas, and setting of resource rent such as levies and fees payable in terms of Section 44 of the Marine Resources Act, Act 27 of 2000.
“In line with the Ministry’s mandate to collect levies and fees, a total of N$193 million was collected from fees and levies that contributed to the State Revenue. For the Financial year, 2024/2025, the Programme has prioritised the finalisation of the review of landed values to optimise the resource rent in managing fisheries and marine resources,” he added.
The last programme is policy co-ordination and support services which requires N$6,005,462. The purpose of this programme is to provide administrative support to the Ministry, particularly in the area of Information Technology (IT) services. The services provided during the 2023/2024 financial year included renewal of software licences, provision of technical services, maintenance and acquisition of IT equipment.
“The priority for the 2024/2025 financial year includes the development and implementation of a Disaster Recovery System to mitigate risk factors posing as threats to ministerial digital data and improved service delivery. Also, the National IT Policy requires the Ministry to meet standards and improve service delivery and continue to keep abreast of IT development(s) in the marine environment for purposes of research and monitoring, control and surveillance,” he said.