Etosha Fishing to receive 5 000-tonne fish quota to save jobs

Walvis Bay canning factory Etosha Fishing Corporation will be granted a 5 000-tonne fish quota to ensure the preservation of jobs.

This was disclosed by fisheries minister Derek Klazen in an interview with The Namibian on Friday.

“They requested 10 000 tonnes, but I cannot grant them that amount. The reason I am taking this action is to keep Etosha operational,” Klazen said.

Due to a shortage of fish for canning, the company, which has been canning pilchards since the 1940s, was planning to lay off its employees by 31 July.

Etosha has been grappling with obtaining sufficient fish for canning since the pilchard moratorium was imposed in 2017.
To sustain its operations, the company has resorted to importing frozen pilchards from Morocco, as well as canning horse mackerel for the Mafuta Brand.

The pilchard fish stock has not recovered since its collapse in the early 1970s, after 1,4 million tonnes were caught between 1968 and 1969. Klazen emphasised that the allocation of the quota is crucial to preserving jobs and preventing a complete collapse of the canning industry.

“We are making efforts and negotiating with the company to prevent its closure because if the company shuts down now, it will be extremely challenging to get it back up and running again,” he said.

The announcement of the quota comes as employees are preparing to demonstrate at the offices of the fisheries ministry at Walvis Bay on Tuesday.

The president of the National Service and Allied Workers Union (Nasawu), Paulus Hango, said they will present a petition to the ministry.

“We do not want the company to close down, and I believe the ministry shares the same sentiment. However, we will have to wait and see what unfolds,” Hango said.

If the company receives the quota, it should be accompanied by proper employment conditions, he said. “Etosha has some of the worst employment conditions among the fishing companies, and that is why we insist that if they receive the quota, the issue of employment conditions must be reviewed. We are against any scenario where the employees are subjected to unfavourable conditions,” he said. Etosha Fishing managing director Volker Paulsmeier has confirmed that the company is engaged in high-level discussions with the ministry. However, he declined to provide further details about the discussions.

ALLOCATION OF QUOTA QUESTIONED

A source within the ministry, who spoke to The Namibian anonymously due to fear of reprisals, raised concerns about the minister’s decision to save one cannery while neglecting to allocate a quota to another. Princes Another company,Princess Brand,has a brand new facility with the potential to create 450 new jobs, however, it has been unable to commence operations due to a lack of quota.

“There is an opportunity to allocate a portion of the horse mackerel total allowable catch (TAC), which amounts to around 300 000 tonnes annually, to these two canneries.

This move would secure up to 1 000 jobs,” the source said. Klazen said the priority is to save existing jobs that are currently under threat.

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