adminNamibia plans to auction the right to catch horse mackerel and hake off its coast to foreign fishing vessels to urgently raise money to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The country’s fisheries ministry on Monday announced plans to sell 60 percent of its so-called Governmental Objective Fish Quota.
Along with tourism, beef and mining, fishing is one of Namibia main sources of foreign exchange.
“Government is in need of financial resources on an emergency basis with a view to mitigate the effects of Covid-19,” said Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Albert Kawana.
“We do not produce medicines in Namibia nor do we manufacture medical equipment.”
The auction, the first of its kind, will see the sale of the right to catch 72 000 tons of horse mackerel and 11 000 tons of hake. Namibia has seen a steady up-tick of new infections and has now reported 2 949 cases of Covid-19 and 19 deaths since the start of the outbreak, according to the latest statistics released on Sunday. — Bloomberg.
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