Fisheries ministry to collect over US$6 million in revenue

Maputo, 5 Apr (AIM) – Mozambique’s Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP) plans to collect 425 million meticais (over US$6 million) in revenue during the 2021 fishing campaign, which was recently opened across the country.

Among the plans for the ongoing campaign, MIMAIP will also license 536 industrial and semi-industrial fishing vessels as well as 6,066 recreational and sports fishing practitioners.

The minister of the portfolio, Augusta Maita, who addressed on Monday in Maputo the opening session of a meeting to review the activities of the last campaign and the perspectives for 2021, said the plan will demand from everyone additional efforts, because of the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the adoption, in January, of the Regulation on Maritime Fishing (REPMAR).

“REPMAR is an innovative instrument on the management and planning of fisheries, which has been largely disseminated at every level by the ministry, calling on fishermen, sellers of fishing gear, processors of fisheries produce and other stakeholders to have a broader knowledge of the norms within the regulation,” Maita said.

After extensive consultation with the stakeholders, MIMAIP, she said, passed recently the Management Plan for 2021/25 which will guide the measures to ensure sustainable catches of fish and crustaceans.

However, Maita regretted the reduction in the size of the Mozambican fishing fleet. This mostly affects the semi-industrial fleet, caused by a number of reasons such as the vessels’ obsolescence and poor re-investment capacity by the fishing companies. The situation has contributed to a reduction in the production targets and consequently in the government’s annual plans.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the country’s situation, Maita urged every stakeholder to identify the most effective strategies to deal with the challenges facing the growth and development of the fisheries sector.
(AIM)