751122E – MOZAMBIQUE PRODUCES OVER 340,000 TONNES OF FISH IN LAST NINE MONTHS
Maputo, 22 Nov (AIM) – The Mozambican Minister of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Lídia Cardoso, revealed last Monday, in the southern province of Gaza, that the overall fisheries production in the last nine months reached a total of 341,113 tonnes.
“These results reveal the preponderance of artisanal fisheries”, the minister said, during the central ceremonies of World Fisheries Day, celebrated under the slogan: “For Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, Contributing to the Integrity of Aquatic Ecosystems.”
These results, according to the minister, quoted by the Maputo daily “Notícias”, represent the integration of fishermen in the formal system, through the registration of all artisanal fishermen existing in the country in an electronic data base, associated with adherence to the social security system.
The national fisheries production is dominated by the artisanal fishing subsector, which accounts for 95 percent of the sector’s overall production.
Semi-industrial and industrial fishing contributed 13,002 tonnes, corresponding to about four percent of overall production, while aquaculture recorded the figure of 3,888 tonnes.
These results, according to Lídia Cardoso, express the preponderance of artisanal fishing, but “one of the biggest challenges has to do with the use of harmful fishing gear, mainly mosquito nets, and illegal fishing, situations that require the strengthening of surveillance and reinforcement of inspection, in an integrated and responsible way.”
The minister also said that the fight against illegal fishing is not only the Government’s task: there is a need to involve other social actors, such as professional associations or Community Fishing Councils.
(AIM)
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