President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has warned against self-interest and the commercialisation of scientific advice in Namibia’s fisheries sector, calling on stakeholders to put the long-term survival of the industry ahead of immediate commercial interests.
Speaking at the National Fisheries Indaba, Nandi-Ndaitwah questioned why government and industry scientists sometimes arrive at significantly different recommendations despite working within the same scientific field.
She warned against weakening scientific recommendations in an attempt to balance competing economic and social interests, saying the sustainability of Namibia’s marine resources must remain central to fisheries management.
“Therefore, we really need to take science seriously. As the Minister mentioned, I find that we may be diluting science,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
“If you have government scientists who read the same books and went to the same schools as industry scientists, why do they come up with completely different answers?”
The President questioned whether commercial interests were increasingly influencing positions taken within the sector at the expense of the long-term sustainability of fish stocks.
“Perhaps the interests have become too commercialised, and we are not thinking about the future. Have we really solved the problem? I am not sure that we have. But reality is catching up with us,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah called on government, fishing companies, scientists and other stakeholders to use the Indaba to confront the challenges facing the sector and develop measures capable of protecting the industry over the long term.
“Let everybody open their minds. Let everybody be realistic. Let us not be selfish if we are to protect and defend our fishing industry,” she said.
The President also warned that Namibia’s fishing industry may no longer be able to support the same number of people it accommodated in the past, raising the need for alternative economic opportunities for those who may not find employment or livelihoods in the sector.
She said the outcomes of the Indaba should provide government with a clearer direction on how Namibia’s marine resources can be managed to benefit both current and future generations.
Nandi-Ndaitwah also called for an assessment of the fisheries industry’s contribution to Namibia’s economy since independence and whether the sector has delivered on its potential to reduce poverty and broaden economic participation.
“Since we reformed our fishing industry at the dawn of our independence, to what extent and with what impact has the industry contributed to the Namibian economy?” she asked.
The President said claims had been made that Namibia’s fishing industry could have played a much larger role in reducing poverty if the country had managed and utilised the resource differently.
“Some people have said that if we had really focused properly, the poverty level in this country could not be where it is today. The fishing industry alone could have helped address that problem,” she said.
“I now want to know from this Indaba whether that is true or fiction.”
Nandi-Ndaitwah said recommendations emerging from the Indaba should help determine how the sector can be reformed to protect fish stocks while increasing its contribution to employment, poverty reduction and Namibia’s broader economic development.
