New fisheries offices open at Swakop

THE new headquarters of the Benguela Current Commission (BCC) and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) were opened in Swakopmund yesterday by the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernhard Esau.

The new offices are adjacent to the National Marine Information and Research Centre (NATMIRC). A N$37 million expansion of the centre, which included the construction of the new offices, was recently completed.Both BCC and SEAFO had been renting offices; the former in Windhoek since 2008, and the latter in Walvis Bay since 2005.’Thanks to the Namibian government, the organisations will enjoy major annual savings. Total annual rental fees amounted to about N$700 000 per year. Now we don’t have to pay rent, and so we can spend our money on work in this very important sector,’ said Hashali Hamukuaya, executive secretary of BCC.Esau said it is ideal that the offices are adjacent to NATMIRC, given the centre’s research culture and its common views on sustainable management.’We are delighted to accommodate these two organisations in a state-of-the-art research complex. By doing so, Namibia is demonstrating its unwavering commitment to ensuring the long-term sustainable management and conservation of the resources with the Exclusive Economic Zone of the BCLME (Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem) countries as well as in the adjacent high seas.’Established in 2007, the BCC has a mandate from Angola, Namibia and South Africa to promote the integrated management, sustainable development and protection of the BCLME.The BCLME spans some 30 degrees of latitude, extending from Angola’s Cabinda Provide in the north, to just east of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. It is one of the richest marine ecosystems on earth and supports an abundance of life.SEAFO is an intergovernmental fisheries management organisation responsible for sustainable management of living marine resources in high seas in the south Atlantic ocean. Its seven members are Angola, Namibia, SA, Norway, European Union, Japan and South Korea.