Maputo, Mozambique — Fishing authorities in Maputo have stopped issuing licenses for trawlers fishing for prawns, as government moves to check over-exploitation in the Sofala Bank off the coast of central Mozambique.

Mozambican Fisheries minister Cadmiel Muthemba was quoted by the Mozambican News Agency (AIM) as explaining that the decision was in line with the latest strategy for prawn fishing in the Bank, effective since last year.

The culling of prawn fishing vessels started in 1999. Then there were 95 trawlers, but this figure has been cut to 89, and Muthemba envisages even further cuts in the course of 2001.

The measure has already affected major prawn fishing companies, which are either foreign or joint ventures between foreign companies and the Mozambican state.

Recently established Mozambican fishing companies have not been affected by the measure since they hardly pose a serious threat to prawn stocks.

"It's necessary to give the Mozambican companies their opportunity," the minister said, adding "they'll make mistakes, and quite a lot of them, but they'll have to grow."

The long-standing practice of giving additional quotas to fishing companies has also been scrapped, he said, after this led to over-exploitation of stocks.

Previously, companies could request additional quotas whenever their allocated ones were reached.

The new measure follows recommendations from a study commissioned by the government in 1999 on prawn stocks. Then prawn production recorded 8,300 tonnes, which was 1,066 tonnes less than initial forecasts.

"We felt that the catch per boat was decreasing drastically and if that continued, we'd reach a stage when fishing wouldn't be profitable. It's a measure of resource management, but also of economic management," Muthemba said.

There is also an on-going study to assess the population of prawns and other marine resources in the Maputo bay. A study done in December 2000 sounded a warning as to the over-exploitation of various fish species there.