Pilchard-starved cannery on brink of collapse

NAMIBIA’S oldest fish cannery, Etosha Fishing, is on the brink of closure if it does not get any pilchard quota.

However, a quota cannot be allocated as no scientific research has been done on the stock level of pilchards yet.

The cannery has for the past few years been sustained by the importation of frozen pilchards from Morocco. This has sustained about 800 jobs with the hope of securing a quota once the 2018 three-year moratorium on the fish species is lifted.

Etosha Fishing employees on Wednesday handed over a petition to their employer, demanding answers on the moratorium on pilchard fishing. They were sent home on 6 August after a month’s work, because of a lack of fish to process.

Turky Hailonga, the employees’ representative, this week said they are in the dark on the moratorium, which was put in place to let stock recover to sustainable levels.

“We want to start working on pilchards. Why are we not getting a pilchard quota?” he asked. The employees said the company operated for three weeks only so far this year. They handed the petition over to the company’s managing director, Nezette Beukes, who promised to provide feedback.

Beukes could not be reached for comment. Minister of fisheries and marine resources Derek Klazen confirmed that no research has been conducted yet to ascertain the level of pilchard stock.

“Our vessel is ready to start with research in October. We need to wait for the outcome to decide on a moratorium, but we are ready. From the side of the ministry we are talking with the company, Etosha, to find solutions to their problem,” he said.

The ministry last allocated a 14 000-tonne pilchard quota in 2017, which has led to many questions on the soundness of the decision-making process followed.

At the time the decision by then minister of fisheries Bernhard Esau was questioned by scientists, because he relied on the advice of the Marine Resources Advisory Council. The council consists of 13 members, of which at least five represent the fishing industry or have fishing interests. Only one practising fisheries scientist serves on the council and none from the ministry.

Pilchard stock in Namibian waters collapsed in the early 1970s after 1,4 million tonnes were caught between 1968 and 1969. This has resulted in thousands of job losses as canneries around Walvis Bay and Lüderitz shut their doors.

Over the years, scientists have been calling for a moratorium on sardine fishing to allow stocks to recover.

The Namibian Chamber of the Environment has in the past advised that a moratorium of several years could be achieved at minimal cost. This, the chamber advised, could be done through sourcing fish from else where as it is being done already, or by redeploying employees temporarily in other sectors.

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