Rising Fuel Prices Threaten Namibia’s Fishing Industry

Rising fuel prices and high interest rates, coupled with stagnant fishing quotas will further plunge Namibia’s fisheries sector, which was showing signs of recovering, into the doldrums.

Stakeholders in the fisheries sector said this week that rising overheads, especially the impact of rising diesel prices, would eat into their profit margins.

The Chairman of the Confederation of Fishing Association of Namibia Silvanus Kathindi said that the fishing sector, which plunged into rough waters five years ago, was showing signs of recovery.

The industry, one of the country’s three major foreign currency earners, has been in a downward spiral for the past six years, resulting in several companies cutting back on operations and retrenchment of thousands of workers.

Fishermen cite low quotas and financial problems brought about by high crude oil prices and a volatile exchange rate in relation to the Namibian dollar.

“The industry was in a recovery stage but fuel prices are putting more pressure on operators,” said Kathindi, who is also the MD of Etale Fishing company.

Petrol and diesel currently costs R9 and R10 (US$1.2) per liter, respectively. “Because the industry uses a lot of fuel, this is going to put severe pressure on the sector,” he said.

Fishing vessels usually consume up to 70, 000 liters on a nine day trip and the recent fuel increases have resulted in an additional US$69, 000 in fuel costs alone.

Output in the fishing sector slowed down by 0.4 percent in 2007, lower than a decline of 4.8 percent in 2006, the central bank said in its annual report for 2007.

“This is an industry which has a lot of unknowns-ever changing weather patterns, rising prices of inputs and a very unstable exchange rate, so far it is very difficult to predict the future,” Kathindi said.

To compound the fishing sector’s woes, the government has not raised the total allowable catch (TAC) for the fishing sector during the past three years.

“The TAC has remained the same over the last three years, however the industry had so far managed to cope with that,” Kathindi said.

Source African Press Agency

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