Fisheries and marine resources minister Derek Klazen has expressed concern about the high incidence of by-catch in the hake, mackerel and pilchard sub sectors within the horse mackerel industry.
By-catch is the unintentional fishing of non-target species or sizes of fish and other marine creatures during fishing operations, leading to overfishing and ecological imbalance.
“This trend of high by-catches suggests a deliberate intent in these landings. I believe they can be avoided and are intentionally pursued for their economic value,” Klazen said during his annual address to the fishing industry at Walvis Bay last week.
According to ministry data, between May and September, the horse mackerel sector landed 8 012 metric tonnes of by-catch, including 4 619 metric tonnes of hake, 3 072 metric tonnes of pilchards and 319,5 metric tonnes of reds (Dentex).
During the same period, the monk fishery landed 434 metric tonnes of by-catch, with 433 metric tonnes being hake.
As a result, these sectors earned over N$60 million from the sale of 5 053 metric tonnes of hake alone.
Klazen highlighted the ministry’s consideration of reinforcing measures to control this phenomenon:
“Rightholders should recognise that high by-catches signal unsustainable management of resources, potentially undermining our management system,” he said.
Last month, Klazen confirmed that fishing companies continue to catch pilchards despite a moratorium.
The ministry implemented a zero total allowable catch (TAC) moratorium on pilchards five years ago due to the stock’s unhealthy state following the sector’s collapse during the 1970s, caused by extensive fishing and unfavourable environmental conditions.
Klazen noted that the by-catch of pilchards was low and did not offer a sustainable yield for TAC.
Earlier this year, The Namibian reported that the fishing industry had generated a profit of nearly N$48 million from the by-catch of angelfish, alfonsino and reds during the 2022 fishing season.
This by-catch included 752,3 tonnes of angelfish, 89 tonnes of alfonsino and 1 145,8 tonnes of reds.
Currently, no TAC has been allocated to any rightholder for these species due to the undetermined biomass of these species.
Angelfish sell at N$35 per kilogramme (kg), reds at N$17 per kg and alfonsino at N$27 per kg.
However, the current levies on these species stand at N$7/kg for alfonsino, N$6/kg for angelfish and N$5/kg for reds.
As per regulations, fishing vessels are permitted to have only 5% of their catch as by-catch.
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