Maputo, Mozambique — Fisheries ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have adopted the final version of a SADC fisheries Protocol, approved at the end of their one-day meeting in the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

The document would be submitted to summit in August for approval by SADC Heads of State.

The Protocol is intended to regulate fishing in southern Africa within the framework of poverty reduction in the sub region through a sustainable management of marine resources.

Apart from the Protocol, the Maputo ministerial meeting last Friday discussed the harmonisation of fishing policies as well inspection and research in the sector.

A particular concern for the two Portuguese speaking countries, Mozambique and Angola, was accuracy in the translation of SADC fisheries documents.

The outgoing chairman of SADC's fisheries sector, Namibian Fisheries and Marine Resources minister Abraham Iyambo, observed the sub region has great fisheries potential that was not being fully exploited.

He urged the member states to seek means for the sustainable exploitation of these resources.