The Walvis Bay Rural Constituency Councillor believes corruption in the fishing industry will continue if the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act is not amended.

Tegako Donatus is adamant that the current fisheries law gave birth to the biggest corruption scandal in the country.

Donatus made the remarks at the launch of a study on the severe human impact of the fishrot scandal at Walvis Bay.

According to him, Namibians become too emotional when dealing with the scandal and have failed to address the root causes of corruption in the industry.

Portugal's outgoing Ambassador to Namibia wants the two countries to consider joint value addition to fisheries and agricultural produce.

Luis Gaspar da Silva says this is due to the similarity of challenges faced by Namibia and Portugal in these particular economic sectors.

Da Silva, who heads into retirement, bid farewell to President Hage Geingob at State House, saying he is satisfied with the state of bilateral cooperation.

The Executive Director of Fisheries and Marine Resources Annely Haiphene says the ministry has prioritised the finalisation of the long-awaited scorecard system in the current financial year.

The Ministries of Fisheries and Labour signed an agreement with two fishing companies to re-employ part of the 1130 unemployed fishermen who lost their jobs eight years ago.

The signing comes after a few delays in the Attorney General's office reviewing the contracts.

The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Derek Klazen, made the announcement during a media briefing at Walvis Bay.

These fishermen, who were previously employed by various fishing companies, lost their jobs as a result of their participation in an illegal strike.

The jobs of more than 600 fishermen who resigned at Walvis Bay, in the Erongo Region, will be offered to other people in the fishing industry.

This is according to Richard Metcalfe, the lawyer representing the four companies that have taken legal action against the employees. 

The workers were employed by Hadago Fishing, Kuiseb Enterprises, Cavema and Vernier Investments in Walvis Bay.

The Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations (CNFA) has reiterated its resistance to fishing activities within restricted areas.

Requests to allow fishing in breeding areas from the Wet Landed Horse Mackerel Association are yet to be approved by the Cabinet.

Last month, the Wet Landed Horse Mackerel Association asked Cabinet to allow the sector to catch fish within the restricted 200-metre zone.

The association has warned that 1300 jobs are at risk because it is a struggle to land horse mackerel.