The National Planning Commission (NPC) says the Namibian fishing sector’s N$10 billion contribution to the GDP could be improved based on current market activity.
Namibia’s fishing industry ranks among the world’s top 10, primarily due to its robust governance architecture. Despite this, the sector’s contribution remains at N$10 billion.
“The sector recorded close to N$10 billion and further contributed 4.5% to the GDP, which still falls short of the desired levels, given the diverse activities in the fishing sector,” Namibia’s Third Voluntary Review Report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stated.
The NPC report highlighted various governance interventions to increase transparency, optimise fish stock utilisation, and enhance local beneficiation to boost the sector’s economic contributions.
“Regarding aquaculture, various programs are being deployed to promote aquaculture and conserve aquatic ecosystems within communities. Measures include training and the sale of fishlines to improve subsistence aquaculture,” the report noted.
Namibia recently launched the National Aquaculture Strategic Plan (2022-2026), aligned with the SADC protocol on fisheries, aiming to maximise the socio-economic benefits of the aquaculture sector.
“Fish handling, canning, and processing improved to 58% in the 2021/22 fiscal year, up from 5% in 2017/18. The horse mackerel sub-sector, employing approximately 70% of the fisheries sector labour, increased its value addition from 20% to 60% over the same period,” said NPC.
Meanwhile, under the Marine Resources Act 27 of 2000, Namibia endorsed regulations to prevent marine resource exploitation, including fish type management, fishing licensing, species safeguarding, and environmental protection, with compliance penalties as necessary.
Despite efforts to conserve fish stocks, some species, like pilchards and sardines, have decreased in size. World Bank data shows total fisheries production rose from 329,911 metric tons in 2020 to 416,099 in 2022.
While this is still below the 1993 peak of 790,615 metric tons, it remains significant given sustainable production parameters.
This follows the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) recovering N$20 million from 14 fishing companies between 1 May and 19 July 2024 through administrative summons and the involvement of third parties, including commercial banks, to address outstanding tax liabilities.
NamRA is intensifying its efforts to combat deliberate tax evasion within the fishing industry.
Sam Shivute, the national tax collector’s Commissioner and CEO, has accused companies in the fishing sector as well as other multinationals – top foreign currency earners – of using several scams to avoid paying the correct amount of taxes to the government.
