Mozambique’s Minister of Fisheries, Victor Borges, on Thursday warned that the inspection of fishing activities must be stepped up at all levels in order to guarantee sustainability.
Speaking at a meeting with fishermen and other citizens at the Josina Machel administrative post in Manhica district, about 90 kilometres north of Maputo, Borges said that inspection is fundamental for sustainable fishing, since it detects and eliminates damaging practices which can harm the environment and lead to a reduction in the quantity and quality of fish caught.
He urged the Community Fishing Councils (CCP) to regard inspection as a major challenge for the development of fishing in their areas of action.
“Sustainability means not using damaging fishing gear, such as mosquito nets, or other nets that do not have the recommended mesh”, said Borges. “It means respecting the closed season and not putting great pressure on the fisheries resources”.
Borges was speaking after a visit to Cuchene lagoon.
He noted that, although the lagoon seems to have a great deal of fishing potential, if it is exploited intensively and with inappropriate fishing equipment, there could be a collapse in catches, in terms of both quantity and quality.
He advised the people of Josina Machel to take up aquaculture, and breed fish rather than merely catch them. “We have to begin to build fish tanks”, he argued. “This is an activity that can be associated with agriculture and will give it added value”.
He gave the local residents copies of a manual on fish-farming, encouraging them to try out this activity, for which the country has great potential.
During the meeting, the fishermen complained of the lack of cold storage facilities to preserve their fish, the absence of any shops selling fishing materials, and the difficulty in taking their catches to market because of the poor state of the roads.
In the absence of cold storage, the fishermen preserve their fish by drying or smoking it. Borges said the concerns they presented were legitimate, and guaranteed that they would be dealt with in coordination with other sectors.
2012 AllAfrica