Fish stocks ‘in a good state’

THE fishing industry is not worse off than similar industries elsewhere in the world, says Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Abraham Iyambo.

He opened a new long-line processing facility of N$10 million at Corvima Fishing at Walvis Bay last week. Iyambo called the timing of the opening of the factory “fortuitous”.He said the Corvima factory was quintessentially in line with the commitments of the Marine Resources Policy, which he had launched exactly one month ago.The policy supports domestic catching, processing and marketing.He said the company had to be congratulated for the achievement, especially given the difficult times faced by the industry.”Finding finance in order to be able to invest is not easy in the present climate.”Iyambo tried to put the current industry climate into perspective, saying he had just returned from Canada from an international conference for ministers of fisheries.”We have problems, but we as a country in terms of fishing are in an excellent position.”He said more than 40 000 jobs have been lost because of factory closures worldwide, as there is no longer fish to catch.”Our situation is different, as our stocks are in a good state.Our problems are external and only temporary.I conducted individual sessions with more than 16 ministers and many of them asked if they could come and catch in our waters, as they no longer had fish.Our current situation is not worse than what is happening in the rest of the world,” Iyambo said.The Minister therefore warned that resource limits would continue to be recognised in determining total allowable catches.He added that quota allocations would continue to be based on actual investment capacity, especially on land.He said the country’s fish stocks were generally in a healthy state, and that the size of hake landed over the past two months had improved.Still on the positive side, Iyambo said the preliminary import data for 2004 show that Namibia was the top supplier of hake to the European Union (EU).More than 80 000 tonnes, worth N$1.23 billion, was sold to the EU.Louis Bastos, Chairman of the Corvima Group, said it became clear that a facility meeting EU standards for the supply of top-quality fresh fish directly to European markets was needed to ensure the survival of the long-line sector of the hake industry.”When Government announced it was embarking on the renovation and enlargement of the Walvis Bay airport, we realised our dream to fly fresh fish directly from Walvis Bay to Europe could come true.”Bastos said this meant fish flown from Walvis Bay early in the morning could be eaten in Europe the same day.The company went into a joint venture with a multinational group called Caladero, which supplies directly to the biggest group of supermarkets in Spain, called Mercadona.Bastos said the new facility created 75 jobs on shore, with the potential of another 30 jobs for product development.The company has ten vessels with a total crew of 250 fishermen.Corvima Fishing was established in 1994 as an investment company to assist newcomers with joint ventures.The newcomers are African American Trading, Agatha Bay Fishing, Koi-Koi Fishing, Namibian Fisherman’s Association and Khoisan Fishing.Iyambo called the timing of the opening of the factory “fortuitous”.He said the Corvima factory was quintessentially in line with the commitments of the Marine Resources Policy, which he had launched exactly one month ago.The policy supports domestic catching, processing and marketing.He said the company had to be congratulated for the achievement, especially given the difficult times faced by the industry.”Finding finance in order to be able to invest is not easy in the present climate.”Iyambo tried to put the current industry climate into perspective, saying he had just returned from Canada from an international conference for ministers of fisheries.”We have problems, but we as a country in terms of fishing are in an excellent position.”He said more than 40 000 jobs have been lost because of factory closures worldwide, as there is no longer fish to catch.”Our situation is different, as our stocks are in a good state.Our problems are external and only temporary.I conducted individual sessions with more than 16 ministers and many of them asked if they could come and catch in our waters, as they no longer had fish.Our current situation is not worse than what is happening in the rest of the world,” Iyambo said.The Minister therefore warned that resource limits would continue to be recognised in determining total allowable catches.He added that quota allocations would continue to be based on actual investment capacity, especially on land.He said the country’s fish stocks were generally in a healthy state, and that the size of hake landed over the past two months had improved.Still on the positive side, Iyambo said the preliminary import data for 2004 show that Namibia was the top supplier of hake to the European Union (EU).More than 80 000 tonnes, worth N$1.23 billion, was sold to the EU.Louis Bastos, Chairman of the Corvima Group, said it became clear that a facility meeting EU standards for the supply of top-quality fresh fish directly to European markets was needed to ensure the survival of the long-line sector of the hake industry.”When Government announced it was embarking on the renovation and enlargement of the Walvis Bay airport, we realised our dream to fly fresh fish directly from Walvis Bay to Europe could come true.”Bastos said this meant fish flown from Walvis Bay early in the morning could be eaten in Europe the same day.The company went into a joint venture with a multinational group called Caladero, which supplies directly to the biggest group of supermarkets in Spain, called Mercadona.Bastos said the new facility created 75 jobs on shore, with the potential of another 30 jobs for product development.The company has ten vessels with a total crew of 250 fishermen.Corvima Fishing was established in 1994 as an investment company to assist newcomers with joint ventures.The newcomers are African American Trading, Agatha Bay Fishing, Koi-Koi Fishing, Namibian Fisherman’s Association and Khoisan Fishing.

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