STAFF WRITER
Prime Minister Tjitunga Elijah Ngurare says Namibia must change how it manages its fishing industry as key fish stocks come under pressure.
Speaking at the National Fisheries Indaba in Walvis Bay on Friday, Ngurare said the country must protect its fish stocks while making sure the industry creates more jobs, income and value for Namibians.
The fisheries review found pressure on key fish stocks, challenges in rebuilding stocks, gaps in scientific research and data, and a need for greater transparency in how scientific advice is used to make fishing decisions.
“We cannot reform fisheries in fragments. Namibia requires a system reform,” Ngurare said.
The warning comes as Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Minister Inge Zaamwani called for strict adherence to sustainable fishing practices to protect the N$14 billion industry.
“Without sustainable fish stocks, there can be no fishing industry, no processing sector, no maritime services, and no livelihoods dependent on them,” Zaamwani said.
She said the government’s review of the fisheries sector, supported by scientific research, stakeholder consultations and industry analysis, had provided a clearer picture of the state of the industry.
The review showed progress but also highlighted areas requiring urgent action, Zaamwani said.
MORE VALUE, LESS PRESSURE
Ngurare said Namibia could not depend on catching more fish to grow the industry because fish stocks are limited.
“A finite biological resource cannot support an economic strategy based indefinitely on increasing extraction,” he said.
“Our strategic task must therefore be to obtain greater national value from sustainable harvests.”
He said this means looking at processing, product development, market access, logistics, investment, taxation, local procurement, technology and skills.
The fishing industry also supports businesses beyond fishing itself, including ship repair, engineering, fabrication, port services, cold storage, freight and packaging, he said.
QUOTAS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
The reform will also look at how fishing rights and quotas are allocated.
Ngurare said fish in Namibian waters are a national resource and that access must be managed transparently.
“The diagnostics ask a fundamental question: who gets access, on what basis, and with what obligations?” he said.
He said companies and others benefiting from the resource must meet clear obligations.
“Rights must carry obligations. Access must carry accountability. Economic opportunity derived from a public resource must demonstrably contribute to national value,” Ngurare said.
The government will consider ways to strengthen the rules around fishing rights and quotas, improve transparency and make obligations easier to measure and enforce.
SCIENCE TO GUIDE DECISIONS
Ngurare said scientific research must play a stronger role in decisions on fishing.
The review found gaps in scientific coverage and data continuity. It also called for more transparency when management decisions differ from scientific advice.
The proposed reforms include stronger controls on fishing, clearer rules for dealing with risk when setting Total Allowable Catches, better monitoring and stronger research funding.
“The purpose of these reforms is not to make decision-making more complicated. It is to make it more credible, more transparent and more resilient,” Ngurare said.
PROTECTING THE OCEAN
Zaamwani said protecting marine ecosystems is both an environmental responsibility and an economic necessity.
“Namibia remains committed to protecting 11% of our Exclusive Economic Zone by 2030. As the economic engine of our fishing industry, this is imperative and we will do it in a consultative and participatory manner,” she said.
Ngurare said Namibia governs about 580,000 square kilometres of Exclusive Economic Zone.
He described the Benguela Current Upwelling System as a valuable national resource, but said its value depends on protecting the biological resources that support it.
WHO BENEFITS?
Ngurare said fisheries reform must also focus on ordinary Namibians.
He said the sector’s success should not only be measured through tonnes of fish landed, exports and its contribution to GDP.
It should also be measured through jobs, household incomes, food security, skills, opportunities for young Namibians and women, and the strength of coastal communities.
“The question placed before us on Day 1 is therefore the correct one: who is the fisheries economy working for?” he said.
Ngurare said the reform process must answer that question through measurable results.
LOOKING BEYOND FISHING
The government also wants to expand activities such as aquaculture, mariculture, small-scale fisheries, technology and new marine businesses.
Ngurare said capture fishing would remain an important part of the marine economy, but the limits on fish stocks meant future growth would also have to come from getting more value from each tonne harvested and developing other areas.
He said climate and environmental changes must also be considered in future fisheries management.
A SYSTEM-WIDE REFORM
Ngurare said the reform must strengthen government institutions, scientific capacity, skills and data systems.
He said the government needs to be able to track the fisheries system from the condition of fish stocks and scientific advice through quotas, catches, processing, markets, revenue, employment and national benefit.
“Where information is fragmented, accountability is fragmented,” he said.
Ngurare said the next stage of the indaba must move from discussions to decisions, with clear priorities, responsibilities, financing and accountability.
He warned that failure to act would affect more than fishing companies and government institutions.
“The costs will not be confined to fishing companies or Government institutions. They will be felt in the resource itself, in jobs and household incomes, in coastal economies, in public revenue, in investment confidence and in the opportunities available to future generations,” he said.
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