President Hage Geingob has condemned overfishing, particularly Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, commonly known as IUU as major causes of loss of biodiversity.
Speaking on the occasion of the world oceans day celebration, Geingob highlighted that Namibia must endeavour to close down on all possible avenues for illegal fishing in Namibian waters as a matter of utmost priority.
“On this matter, I believe that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources will double down on efforts to secure the safety of our fishing and marine resources through the use of modern and technologically advanced systems and strategies to ensure a zero illegal fishing rate in Namibian waters. We must remember that every fish or marine resource stolen from the Namibian sea, means the loss of a job or income or business opportunity for countless of Namibians,” Geingob said.
He went on to express sadness at the continued increase in carbon emission causing ocean acidifications which destroy biodiversity and cause sea levels to rise which in turn triggers floods threatening coastal people whom mostly rely on ocean biodiversity for their welfare.
“It is therefore vital that we protect the ocean and its rich life forms. I call on the line Ministry and stakeholders to strengthen, scientific fisheries research, control, monitoring and surveillance of the Marine ecosystem for the management of Fisheries Resources and conducting of Environmental Impact Assessment of Ocean based industry. These actions are to ensure Ocean ecosystem resilience. In this regard, capacity development is key and institutions should explore innovative ocean-based financing mechanisms such as blue bonds and carbon trading to support research and other critical aspects of the ocean,” Geingob said.
In addition, in line with this year’s theme, Geingob expressed delighted to note that Namibia’s’ Hake Fishery is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a globally recognized, science-based standard for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability.
“I am informed that Namibia is in the process of ensuring that other fisheries products are certified as well. I am also informed that, we are at an advance stage with the development of Namibia’s Sustainable Blue Economy Policy which will further strengthen linkages of the ocean sectors towards sustainable development. Further, all our coastal towns are involved in celebrating this years’ World Ocean Day mainly with beach cleanup campaigns.
“I commend this collective action and trust that it will become a tradition for us to clean our beaches on a quarterly basis. I am also happy to note the inclusion of learners in the celebration of this important day. Their knowledge, as demonstrated through debates here today, place emphasis on the fact that education continues to be a cornerstone to sustainable development. Maybe, the Ministry of Education can look at options how we can include Ocean literacy in school curricula to encourage learners from an early age to take up careers in Ocean related fields,” he added further stating Namibia’s economic future and the livelihoods of many of its people are highly dependent on the state of our ocean.
“Let us therefore pull together to ensure the sustainability of our ocean and its resources,” concluded Geingob.