Masake pledges commitment to fishing industry, national development

Deputy minister of agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform Ruth Masake has pledged her ministry’s commitment to fostering a productive and collaborative relationship with stakeholders in the fishing industry, and to playing a part in achieving Namibia’s development goals.

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders at Walvis Bay on Friday, she said the growing concerns about diminishing fish stocks threatens the sustainability of the industry and the livelihoods that depend on it.

She mentioned the need for an inclusive, science-based national strategy that focuses on enhanced stock assessments, expansion of marine protected areas, seasonal closures and moratoriums, and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“Many Namibians still cannot afford to consume fish regularly. We aim to change this by scaling up inland fisheries and aquaculture, ensuring local distribution of fish through targeted subsidies and regional allocations, encouraging processing and packaging innovations to extend shelf life and reduce waste,” she said.

Masake said Namibia’s marine environment faces increasing pressure from mining, energy exploration, and maritime transport, thus highlighting the need for balance with environmental sustainability and the social contract of inclusive growth.

She said the industry’s approach will be guided by a blue economy governance framework, which ensures integrated spatial planning for marine and coastal activities, environmental safeguards to preserve biodiversity, collaborative frameworks to reduce conflicts and maximising shared value.

She noted the need to create decent work and industrialisation.

“We will promote onshore processing and value addition to extend job creation beyond the sea, in-training, technology transfer and small and medium enterprises support, support women and youth-owned cooperatives and empower artisanal fishers,” she said.