The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources will maintain the status quo of joint venture (JV) formations within the fishing industry, and rather address all challenges emanating according to the law.
This was one of the outcomes from the past week’s retreat held by the ministry at Swakopmund, as a result of disputes regarding shareholders’ requests to uncouple companies from grouped right holding joint ventures due to low catches of horse mackerel species generally.
According to Deputy Minister Silvia Makgone, fishing right holders and the public should appreciate that the idea of grouping companies in JVs was for the overall benefit of the right holders.
“It is settled that JVs facilitate broad public facilitation, skills transfer and leverage in quota sales negotiation. Therefore, the JV formations will remain in force for the benefit of both right holders and the general public,” she noted.
The ministry has however noticed the present uneasiness within the new right holders on this matter, which is a result of the absence of an induction workshop aimed at discussing all relevant modalities regarding JVs, due to COVID-19.
Additionally, discussions regarding the 200 metre isobaths trawling and longline restrictions currently in place in the industry resolved that these will remain in force in order to protect horse mackerel and hake juveniles as well as spawning grounds for a number of commercially exploitable species for their sustainability.
“This measure in conjunction with other complementary measures are the greatest arsenals in the protection of ecologically and biologically significant areas such as corals and the bottom habitats that play key roles in inhabiting and shaping biological communities,” Makgone explained.
According to the deputy minister, the ministry has however taken note of requests from horse mackerel sectors to fish within the 200m isobaths and is considering several options to ensure the coexistence of horse mackerel fleets for both wet and freezer trawlers.
The retreat which discussed these policies among others, was held under the theme ‘Towards transformational policy innovations’.
The retreat is but one of the series of discussions the ministry intends to conduct within the foreseeable future.
Source: The Namibia Press Agency
