A N$70 million fish processing plant has been inaugurated by Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Derek Klazen at Walvis Bay.

The factory is the third one that the Merlus Group of Companies has set up in the harbor town.

The increase in the number of seals in the population threatens the fish species in the Namibian waters, hence the need to control them.

The Namibian government is doing all it can to address unemployment, which has become a cause for concern.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, says people are forced to live below the standard of dignity enjoyed by those who are gainfully employed.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, says not all men sitting on the side of the road, attempting to look for work, are criminals.

Klazen said this at the official opening of the Men on the Side of the Road (MSR) office in Kuisebmund, Walvis Bay.

The fishing sector remains one of the top industries, contributing to the country's economic growth, Gross Domestic Product, and export earnings, despite hardship and a bleak financial outlook the past two years.

There is still disagreement over the restriction of fishing activities in the 200-meter zone between unions, the wet-landed horse mackerel sector, and the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations.

Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Derek Klazen is concerned about labour unrest in the fishing industry.

Minister Klazen was addressing union representatives and fishing industry leaders at the launch of the National Fish Consumption Day at Walvis Bay.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, has called on the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, or the Ocean Panel, to do more to market investment opportunities in the ocean economy.

This, Klazen says, will maximise the country's economic benefits.