SINCE Bernhard Esau became minister of fisheries and marine resources in 2010, the number of fishing companies operating in Namibian waters has more than doubled from 158 to 358.
Namibia’s total allowable catch (TAC) is about 550 000 tonnes a year, said Esau.
This means the 358 companies must each get a fair share of the TAC to ensure viability, profitability and remain an asset to Namibia’s socio-economic system, with emphasis on job creation.
“The cup is already full when it comes to what is available to catch. We cannot take in more rights holders now,” Esau told The Namibian during a press briefing held at Walvis Bay yesterday after he met over 200 members of the fishing industry to announce the launch of the ‘fish quota pro-rata criteria’ forms.
The forms, which include a list of criteria backed by the Marine Resources Act to gauge fishing companies’ economic performance and contribution within the Namibian context, will be electronically issued to the companies today, and must be completed before the end of September. As from 1 October, the information will be verified and put in a database. The score will determine the size of the quota allocated to the company during future fishing seasons.
According to Esau, the new system is to ensure quota allocations are more transparent, accountable and predictable, based on the performance of individual right holders.
He said the ministry will spend more time evaluating performances and allocating quotas to right holders, rather than only verifying whether or not the information it receives is honest and complete.
“I have instructed my officials to ensure that there are sufficient penalties, ranging from a loss of proportions of quotas to complete denial of quotas for right holders who deliberately provide wrong information, or omit vital information on the forms provided,” Esau warned.
According to the minister, the information is also not confidential business information, and could therefore be shared within the industry to ensure scrutiny and peer verification.
“This way, right holders within similar fisheries will be sure that those who score high points and hence are allocated more quotas are indeed deserving of such amounts,” said Esau.
He said the essence of the criteria is to increase inclusivity in the fishing sector and enhancing job creation, especially through value addition, and ensure that those who are privileged to be allocated fishing rights pay their fair share of resource rent for distribution to the rest of the economy.
