For the people living in coastal areas of Mozambique artisanal fishing provides a critical source of food and income. But the ever increasing local and international demand of fish gives rise to commercial over fishing. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Programme (FAO) small-scale fishermen, who caught 84,065 tonnes of fish for the domestic market in 2000, will need to catch 171,040 tonnes to help meet local demand by 2025.
Mozambique’s coastal waters have been over-fished and its population rise 2.4 percent annually. Their traditional fishing techniques are also not up to date. They lack modern equipment and skills that has left an estimated 90,000 small-scale fishermen unable to access deep-water species or make the best of diminishing coastal stocks.
According to a local fisherman each they catch less and less and they find it difficult to feed their families as the stocks are depleting. It is no doubt that the coastal areas are over exploited and are poorly patrolled. FAO said that the recent figures indicate the current exploitation of demersal fish, shallow-water shrimp, line fish and deep-water lobster is extreme.
The ISS report indicates that the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Africa had become a US$1 billion a year industry. In Mozambique alone illegal fishing in the tuna and shrimp industry was set at approximately $38 million. The National Institute for the Development of Small Scale Fishing of the Mozambican Fisheries Ministry has been struggling to raise the $54 million which would be needed to implement a Strategic Plan for artisanal fishermen from 2007 to 2011.
The plan aims to provide small-scale fishermen appropriate credit which would help the sector to grow by 30 percent. But the main concern of the authority is to curb illegal fishing in the coastal areas.
