Owners of semi-industrial fishing in Mozambique defend the adoption of a phased model in the implementation of the ban on surface shrimp fishing, as a way to ensure income and sustainability to operators.
They argue, on the other hand, that monitoring should be ensured in order to quantify accurately the observance of the ban by shipowners, as there are reported situations of lack of compliance with the measure.
The concern was expressed by Rodrigues Xavier, representative of the semi-industrial ship-owners, during the opening ceremony of the fishing season for surface shrimp (2021), held recently in Maputo, where he raised several issues that, in his view, contribute to the failure in the capture of the shellfish of high commercial and nutritional value.
“The best time to catch shrimp is March, but when we close the fishery during that month, by the time we open (end of the month) that crustacean has already migrated,” said Xavier.
As an example, according to the source, in January 2019, the TG shrimp appeared in an average of 20 to 25 kilograms for each vessel, but in 2020 the shipowners could not even catch two kilograms, a reflection that the shrimp has already emigrated to the open sea where it is then dispersed.
seizures of fish products continue to be a great challenge to the sector
“We are not against the ban, but we think it could be brought forward or phased in so that we are not stuck for a period of five months,” said the source, who also denounces the deficiency of the inspection system at sea and on land.
Regarding the surface shrimp, the sealing has been done for 20 years. At the time, it lasted only one month, however, due to the risk of disappearance of the species the period was, over the years, increased to the current five months.
According to Xavier, during the validity of the veda it was quite common to see people in places in the cities of Maputo and Matola selling the product and well developed. In Costa do Sol, in the area of the Machava Node, in the city of Matola, in the Bilene Beach just to name a few examples, several people were selling, without fear, the seafood along the road.
As a matter of fact, the concern of the semi-industrial ship-owners was repeatedly raised by the AIM reporter to the director of operations, Leonid Chimarizane, who, at the time, said that the sale of that product could only be made upon proof that the lot was purchased or captured before the validity of the ban, otherwise it would be confiscated.
At the opening of the 2021 campaign, the Minister of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Augusta Maíta, said that the seizures of fish products continue to be a great challenge to the sector, however she encourages the fact that there is a reduction that in the period 2019/20 was 11 tons to shrimp and mangrove crab in three.
Chinese vessels frequently seen very close to Mozambican waters
However, Xavier rebuts and says that these are the official indicators, because while there are deficiencies in monitoring it is almost impossible to accurately gauge the volume of catches made in the closed season, contrary to the spirit and the letter of the measure.
The source said, on the other hand, that a warning several times communicated to the fishing sector has to do with situations of Chinese vessels frequently seen very close to Mozambican waters, which nobody knows for sure to what extent they observe the measures in force during this period.
