Horse mackerel capture. (Photo: Stock File)
NAMIBIAFriday, December 05, 2014, 01:00 (GMT + 9)
Fishing firms suing the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, the Namibian government and some rival recipients of horse mackerel quotas achieved partial success after lawsuit settlement.
The case came to an end after a High Court judge ruled that the horse mackerel quota allocation to National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) and two fishing associations was ‘unlawful and irregular,’ The Namibian reported.
During the case hearing, the counsel representing both accusing firms -- Namsov Fishing Enterprises and Atlantic Harvesters of Namibia -- argued that the fisheries minister had acted “illegally” by allocating horse mackerel quotas to entities that do not have fishing rights for that species, which in terms of the Marine Resources Act is a prerequisite before being granted a fishing quota.
Although the judge in charge of the lawsuit deemed the quotas allocated to Fishcor, the Namibian Large Pelagic & Hake Longlining Association and the Small Pelagic Fishing Association of Namibia represented a breach to the law, the allocations were not to be set aside.
Besides, the judge determined that the two accusing firms would have to pay the legal costs of the Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT), which was one of the respondents.
As part of the lawsuit, Namsov, a subsidiary of the publicly traded company BidvestNamibia, was asking the court to order fisheries minister Bernhard Esau to implement an alleged decision to be granted an additional quota of 13,337 tonnes of horse mackerel for the 2014 fishing season.
On the other hand, Atlantic Harvesters was claiming to be allocated an additional quota of 2,555 tonnes in July.
In his defense, the fisheries minister supported his decision by saying the sector needed competition through the introduction of more players and by claiming his quota allocation had been so in order to save jobs.
Namibia’s fisheries industry is the second-largest sector in the country’s economy after mining. The fishing sector contributes about NAD 4000 million (USD 358 million) to the economy through export earnings, mostly to Spain.