Aquaculture is booming in Namibia as the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is responsible for its management and development. It is informed that the Ministry implements management measures which include the granting of fishing rights, setting of annual total allowable catches, allocating quotas to right holders and providing effective monitoring and surveillance of fishing activities.
Namibia is known throughout the world for its thriving marine fisheries sector. The value of fish and fish products serves as an indicator of the performance of the fishing sector. It is said that there are nine commercial fish species in Namibia. More than 90 percent of Namibia’s fish and fish products are exported in various forms to international markets in the European Union (EU), United States of America (USA), the Far East as well as African markets.
It is told that the prospect for 2008 was good with prices increased and forecasted improvement in landings. This will further boost the recovery of the Namibian fishing industry which started to take towards the end of 2007. It is fact that the fishing sector is a major contributor to the national economy. The fish sector has positioned itself as one of the major contributors to GDP. This is essentially the gross income earned, wages and salaries, gross profits, and indirect revenues from fish production. It does not, include the value of intermediary inputs and it is therefore much less than the value of production.
The government has issued VISION 2030 and NDP which outlines the development of Aquaculture as a key priority. It also states that this Sector is expected to enhance food security, reduce poverty, generate employment, improve rural livelihoods and increase investment. The Government has made strides in the development of Freshwater Aquaculture throughout the country by coming up with several projects and institutions to boost fresh water fish production.
