Investment Opportunities : Aquaculture & Mariculture

Are you a fishing net maker or vessel maintainer? Does your company produce packaging material or supply processing equipment to industries? There are opportunities in Namibia's rich fisheries sector which is rated among the best managed in the world.

Namibia's 1,500-km coastline is recognised as one of the world's richest fishing grounds. The commercial biomass consists primarily of small pelagic species (pilchard, anchovy and juvenile mackerel) and lobster along the shallow inshore waters on the continental shelf, as well as large pelagic species including adult mackerel, demersal hake and other deep-sea species.

Mid and deep-water trawling for hake, horse-mackerel, monk and sole account for over three-quarters of the country's weighted fish output.

Namibia's estimated national fish reserves are reportedly the biggest in Southern Africa, and over 90% of the national output is marketed for export.

Mariculture is a growing sub-sector, with a few oyster farms and one seaweed harvesting enterprises already well established.

Investment Opportunities in fisheries

Horse mackerel: Investment potential exists in the processing and export of horse mackerel. The resource has a potential annual yield of over half a million ton that is under-utilised.

Value adding: Opportunities exist in processing of fish, particularly hake, into frozen fish cuts, fish cakes, fish fingers and ready-made fish meals.

Ancillary and support industries: Further investment opportunities exist in activities such as net making, vessel maintenance, supply of processing equipment, the production of packaging material and the provision of professional services to the industry.

For more information: http://www.tradeinvestafrica.com/investment_opportunities/337309.htm