Angola clamps down on fishing

LUANDA – Angola is clamping down on foreign fishing in its waters to boost stocks and grow its own industry, forcing fishermen from abroad to partner with local firms, a minister said this week.

Shrimp and tuna along Angola’s Atlantic coast lure boats from Spain, Japan, Korea and China, but Deputy Fisheries Minister Victoria Cristovao de Barros Neto said new laws put Angolans first. “It is important for us to develop the fishing sector in Angola in a sustainable way, in a way which creates jobs, reduces poverty and feeds the people,” she said in an interview.Local industrial and semi-industrial fishing firms catch about 250 000 tonnes of fish a year, with subsistence fishermen taking another 50 000.Angola was a major fishmeal and fish oil producer under Portuguese colonial rule, but the industry faded during three decades of civil war.Under the new rules, foreign firms could fish off Angola provided they had a joint venture with a local company which must own a majority stake in the partnership.Any catch would be deemed Angolan property and subject to export controls.The joint ventures would only be able to catch fish in surplus, ruling out species such as sardines and horse mackerel, which are important food sources for the local population and where stocks are in decline.Angola plans to enforce its new rules through a control and surveillance programme run jointly by the Ministry of Fishing and the national navy.The changes have irked the European Union, which pulled out of talks earlier this month on a new “pay, fish and go” deal.- Nampa-Reuters”It is important for us to develop the fishing sector in Angola in a sustainable way, in a way which creates jobs, reduces poverty and feeds the people,” she said in an interview.Local industrial and semi-industrial fishing firms catch about 250 000 tonnes of fish a year, with subsistence fishermen taking another 50 000.Angola was a major fishmeal and fish oil producer under Portuguese colonial rule, but the industry faded during three decades of civil war.Under the new rules, foreign firms could fish off Angola provided they had a joint venture with a local company which must own a majority stake in the partnership.Any catch would be deemed Angolan property and subject to export controls.The joint ventures would only be able to catch fish in surplus, ruling out species such as sardines and horse mackerel, which are important food sources for the local population and where stocks are in decline.Angola plans to enforce its new rules through a control and surveillance programme run jointly by the Ministry of Fishing and the national navy.The changes have irked the European Union, which pulled out of talks earlier this month on a new “pay, fish and go” deal.- Nampa-Reuters