A senior fisheries biologist in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources in the Kavango East Region, Dr Francois Jacobs said they have identified crocodile excluding enclosure as one of the mitigating measures against the continuous crocodile attacks in the two Kavango regions.

Jacobs informed this news agency on Thursday that the two regional offices of their ministry and that of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) are collaborating on a study into the behaviour of people, fish and crocodile.

The study is being conducted on the area around Popa Falls up to the Mahango Game Park but will be extended to other areas of the Kavango River after August.

“We have not started with the actual construction or building of these crocodile excluding enclosures as we are in the process of obtaining funding to implement the management recommendations of this study,” he said.

Jacobs said the two ministries are first looking into a feasibility study of erecting these enclosures and want to make sure the enclosure will be maintenance free and something that can move with the level of the water.

The two ministries also want to make sure that the enclosures are comprehensive to ensure that people can utilise them during the high flow and low flow seasons.

“One of the biggest constraints will be finance as this will require environmental clearance. We want to do this across the whole river system, thus it will be a costly exercise,” Jacobs stated.

Close to N.dollars 5 million is needed for this project.

The fisheries biologist said 10 crocodiles were tagged in that area and that from studying them, models can be developed to safeguard loss of human life in the two most affected regions.

He indicated that currently one of the high risk crocodile attack areas is from the Popa Falls area to the Mahango Game Park, areas in the Mukwe Constituency, especially around Andara village.

A total 61 crocodile attacks have been recorded from 2010 to 2021 while seven cases were recorded so far in 2022.

MEFT spokesperson, Romeo Muyunda, confirmed the inter-ministerial project, noting that a targeted awareness programme will be carried out in the two regions between April and May this year.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency