2014-08-18 15 MILLION DOLLARS SPENT FIGHTING ILLEGAL FISHING Mozambique’s Minister of Fisheries, Victor Borges, told reporters on Saturday that over the past five years the government has spent about 15 million US dollars in the fight against illegal fishing in Mozambican waters. Speaking during a press conference, at the end of a visit to Maputo province, Borges said that in combating illegal fishing Mozambique has used “a platform of vigilance via satellite, river and lake patrols, and campaigns of good fishery practices”. A good practices campaign was launched in April in Chidenguele, in the southern province of Gaza. Borges stressed that the campaign is intended to inform fishermen what they should and should not do. With the help of the Community Fishing Councils (CCP), the Minister thought it would be possible to reduce the amount of illegal fishing year after year. He recalled that, in March 2012, a vessel flying a foreign flag, which had come from Madagascar, was fined around 700,000 dollars when it illegally entered Mozambican waters, and was caught about 150 nautical miles from the coast. “Those who steal fish steal the future”, declared Borges. “And we don’t want anyone to steal our future”. During his visit, Borges had urged artisanal fishermen to acquire motors for their boats. He considered this to be a key strategy for artisanal fisheries. Data from the 2012 census of the sector indicate that there about 40,000 small scale fishing boats in Mozambique, but of these only 1,000 use a motor. During the visit, Borges delivered outboard motors to 15 fishermen. “We are going to buy more motors”, he said, “ so that gradually boats which are not yet motorized acquire motors”. Motorised vessels would be able to fish further away from the coast, and Borges believed this would relieve areas that are currently threatened with overfishing. He considered that this was a strategy for sustainable and responsible fishing, and would bring higher income to the fishermen and to the country.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 07:51:29 +0000
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