Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - 21:30
NEW criteria by which fishing quotas will be allocated in the years to come to ensure the future viability and pro-fitability of the Namibian fish resource was introduced to stakeholders in the fishing industry.
The Minister of Fisheries and Marine resources, Bernhardt Esau, introduced the forms which stipulate the new set of rules, said that the days of earning huge amounts of money quickly has come and gone.
“Currently we have 358 right holders who will have to share the total allowable catch of approximately 550 000 tonnes in the coming season. The new system is based on the performance of individual right holders and is aimed to ensure more transparency, accountability and predictability,” he said.
The finalised proforma forms were distributed to the right holders last week. The forms backed by the Marine Resources Act will gauge the economic performance and contribution within the Namibian context of right holders. The stake holders will have to complete the forms before the end of September.
Esau said that from 1 October, the process of verifying the information will begin before being added to a database. The scores of each right holder will determine the size of the quota that will be allocated from the next fishing season and beyond.
The minister said the officials will spend more time evaluating performances and allocating quotas to right holders, rather than only verifying whether or not the information it receives is true and complete. He warned right holders that some of them might not even be considered for quotas if the necessary criteria are not complied with.
“I have instructed my officials to ensure that there are sufficient penalties, ranging from a loss of proportions of quotas to complete denial of quotas for right holders who deliberately provide wrong information, or omit vital information on the forms provided,” Esau said.
The information provided by any right holder will not be treated as confidential according to Esau, but it will be shared within the industry to ensure scrutiny and enable peer verification.
He said the essence of the criteria is to increase inclusivity in the fishing sector and to increase job creation, especially through value addition.