Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Derek Klazen has denounced the alleged entitlement of fishermen who, he claimed, want to dictate the type of work they should do.

Klazen, during a renewal of employment contracts for fishermen employed under the governmental employment redressing programme, noted that the fishermen feel entitled and are disrespectful towards employers, continuously threatening employers with mass resignations and demonstrations and threatening that the quota belongs to them.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, and scientists say the horse mackerel species is under severe threat.

The industry has been warned about unsustainable catches of horse mackerel stock.

A scientist in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Graca D'Almeida, raised alarm at the annual industry address held at Walvis Bay.

Supported by Minister Derek Klazen, it was revealed that the size of horse mackerel has gotten smaller over the decades, while catches of the stock have become unsustainable.

Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Derek Klazen says the fishrot scandal did not cause the loss of jobs for over 1,000 fishermen, who were part of a strike in 2015.

At his annual industry address at Walvis Bay, Klazen noted that there is a distinction between the Fishrot scandal and the job losses.

The Fishrot scandal implicated several individuals, including politicians and businesspeople, a situation the Walvis Bay Mayor, Trevino Forbes, said impacted people's lives negatively.

Fishermen at Walvis Bay have established the October Seafarers United Land and Housing Federation, which will negotiate affordable land and housing for seafarers.

In 2015, a strike in the fishing industry led to massive job losses, and as a result, fishermen used to camp at the Kuisebmond stadium at Walvis Bay.

Eventually, the government stepped in and consulted companies to re-employ the people.

Although they had no physical employment, the fishermen were on the companies' payroll, and they decided to create a land and housing savings group.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources says the high number of by-catches landed by quota holders is an indication of unsustainable management.

Derek Klazen expressed concern during his annual industry address at Walvis Bay, where he accused companies of deliberately landing hake, horse mackerel, and pilchard as bycatch products—species they have no right to catch.

A moratorium on the harvesting of pilchards remains in place for another year, as the fish species is still in an unhealthy state.

This was revealed by Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Derek Klazen during a Cabinet briefing.

The imposed moratorium on the pilchard stock remains while the Ministry continues its research programme to monitor it closely and re-open fishing activities once the stock has recovered to a biologically sustainable level.

The Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT) is gearing up for the 11th annual Fish Consumption Day, to be held in Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region.

The NFCPT commenced their promotional campaign with a road show, which will, for the first time, cover all six constituencies of the region between September 20 and 29.

On September 30, after the road show, there will be celebrations honouring Fish Consumption Day at the Katima Mulilo Sports Complex.
 
The event will be officiated by the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, has commended the achievements made by the Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT) at Ondangwa, calling on the Katima Mulilo Town Council and the City of Windhoek to provide suitable land to construct retail fish shops.

Klazen made the call during the 11th edition of the NFCPT Day gala dinner held at Walvis Bay, where N$410,000 was raised for schools in the Zambezi Region.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, has pleaded with the industry to give his ministry more time to conduct pre-licencing investigations.
 
This, Klazen says, will help to avoid the licencing of vessels linked to illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing activities or having to partake in them.

Klazen's response follows a number of complaints from would-be licensees that the ministry takes too long to issue vessel licences.

590 former employees of Okapale Fishing handed over a petition to the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen.

These fishermen, formerly employed by various fishing companies, lost their jobs due to their participation in an illicit strike.

Since their unemployment in 2015 following an industrial protest led to job terminations, they were allocated to joint venture firms—Alube Fishing, Rukatuka Investment, and Namfi Fishing Möwe Baai—with the assurance of receiving retroactive initial salaries from July 1.