9 April 2008
Windhoek — Cabinet has approved largely unchanged total allowable catches (TACs) for three fish species. The quota for hake will remain at 130 000 tonnes from May 1 until April 30 2009, and the quota for monkfish also remains unchanged at 9 000 tonnes, it announced yesterday.
The quota for the rare orange roughy, a deep-sea species, has been slightly reduced - to 9 000 tonnes, 500 tonnes down from last year. Good news is that the total biomass of hake has increased by 34 per cent to 936 000 tonnes, up from an estimated 701 000 tonnes a year ago. The stock of hake of fishable size increased from 121 000 to 346 000 tonnes, an increase of 186 per cent, according to scientists in the Ministry of Fisheries.
However, the biomass of monkfish has decreased by some 35 per cent since the last survey. "On the positive side, a lot of small monkfish was found, which indicates a good recruitment," the Cabinet statement said.
The TAC for hake in the new fishing season should contribute N$47 million to Government coffers because of higher fish prices and the weaker Namibian dollar against foreign currencies.
The closed season for hake will again be in force for the whole month of October.
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