According to the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr Abraham Iyambo, the Namibian Government is committed to building the country’s aquaculture industry. He also pointed out that aquaculture holds great potential for employment, business activity and exchange earnings.
Speaking at the fisheries and aquaculture conference Dr Iyambo said the country has ample underground water resources, perennial rivers and dams that can be accessed for aquaculture. He noted that the long coast with pristine waters also has excellent marine conditions for oysters, abalone, mussels and finfish. He describe the Namibian aquaculture industry as an infant but with a promise that the sector holds potential for new businesses, such as pharmaceutical, construction, fish feed production and vegetable/crop growing.
He also states that the Government has put in place several policies to ensure a thriving aquaculture industry. Iyambo informed that the future world fish production will come mainly from aquaculture. In the largest fishing nation in the world, China, over 70% of their total seafood production already comes from aquaculture in Norway, aquaculture production in 2007 amounted to N$27 billion.
It is said that aquaculture started in Namibia in the 1980s with tilapia, carp and bass on a small scale. In the mid-eighties, the first large-scale fish breeding and farming was realized at Hardap Dam. To date, the Hardap Research Centre still provides training and fingerlings for the communities in the southern regions. It is told that in 2001, the Government initiated a series of cooperative-based aquaculture pilot projects in the Caprivi and Kavango regions.
