The Fonteintjie Fish Farming Community Project at Keetmanshoop has almost lost all its fish stock due to a power outage.
The power outage came as a result of an electricity supply disconnection for the project by Keetmanshoop Municipality in December last year because of an unpaid debt of more than N$1 million.
The project manager of Fonteintjie Fish Farm, Peter Simasiku, says thousands of fish fingerlings have died to date due to a lack of oxygen.
He explained that the power outage caused a loss of oxygen in the fish ponds.
Simasiku says plans are on the cards to save the fish from dying out completely.
According to Simasiku, efforts by the Chief Regional Officer of ||Kharas Regional Council, which is responsible for the project’s municipality bill, to restore electricity supply to the project proved futile.
In the past, the project’s harvest of fish benefited vulnerable communities.
But this year, the initiative missed out on a harvest that was anticipated in two months because of a power outage that killed the fish population.
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