A total of N$52.3 million was raised from the sale of 28,500 metric tons (MT) of horse mackerel under the Governmental Objective Fishing Quota.

The total was inclusive of N$11,000 raised from application fees for the total quota of 30,540 MT of horse mackerel bids held on March 31, 2023.

A media release issued by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday said the two ministries considered the horse mackerel auction a success, with a slight improvement in prices from the reserve price.

An average of N$3,017.64 per quota for freezer horse mackerel was recorded this time, up from the N$3,000 recorded the previous season and N$754.02 from the N$750 recorded for wet horse mackerel from the previous auction.

"Such an outcome confirms auctioning as a good mechanism to facilitate price discovery in the sector and allocate natural resources to the market," the statement read.

A total of 2,040 MT were unallocated.

In February, the ministry announced the sale of N$110 million made from hake under the 15,000 MT Governmental Objective Fishing Quota held on December 16, 2022.