Overview of Fisheries Resources in Namibia

Off the 1,572 km long coastline of Namibia lies known as the Benguela upwelling system, a very rich source of marine life supporting traditional and modern forms of fishery. Commercial fishing and fish processing is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Namibian economy in terms of employment, export earnings, and contribution to GDP. The fishing industry has grown to the extent that it is currently Namibia's second biggest export earner of foreign currency after mining (90% of national output is marketed for export). In 2005, Namibia harvested about 552,164 tonnes of fish. The final value of processed products (export value) that year was around US$ 376.0 million. Besides the marine captured fisheries, Namibia also has a small but vibrant aquaculture sector. Inland captured fisheries exist in the north-east and north-west of Namibia where as commercial freshwater aquaculture of tilapia and catfish is also undertaken. The inland fisheries are mainly subsistence based and typically labour intensive, with low catch per unit effort. However the subsistence fisheries from these regions play a significant role in the lives of rural community. The domestic market for marine fish products is extremely limited due to the small size of the population (2 million). The fishing industry is a source of considerable employment for many Namibians. Huge potential to increase production exists in Namibia, unpolluted high quality marine waters, high natural primary productivity of the seawater, availability of inexpensive fish by-products from established fish processing sector for inclusion in wet aqua-feeds and well-established processing, packaging and marketing systems due to the marine capture fisheries that can be adopted for aquaculture purpose.