ANGOLA – Angola has welcomed the launch of the newly built Gallianus Pesca fishery, located in Benguela, with a freezing capacity of 190 tons and 40 tons for fish conservation.
Sitting on a 2.2 hectares piece of land, establishment of the facility cost a total of US$14 million.
For its fish supply, the company currently operates a fishing vessel with a catching capacity of 100 tons, and has just placed an order for the acquisition of a new vessel with a capacity of 130 tons.
All combined, agriculture, forestry and fisheries represented less than 10 percent of Angola’s GDP in 2020 with FAO highlighting that the fisheries sub-sector contributes 2% of the country’s GDP.
The sector has been recording a decline in productivity for several years with the catch of fish products falling by 6% to 379,000 tons in 2020, marking a third consecutive year of declining productivity, according to FAO data.
Faced with this situation, the government is increasingly encouraging private sector investment to revitalize local industry.
The Angolan government is prioritizing development of the fisheries sector, both coastal and aquaculture value-added production in the country, with support from developmental partners.
To support the advancement of fishing activities, Poland funded the construction of a US$ 22 million fisheries training and technical support academy in the province of Namibe in 2008.
In 2010, the European country provided another US$ 90 million credit line to Angola for the second phase of the Namibe Fishing Academy designed to train up to 2,000 students.
There is a large artisanal fishing fleet in Angola with around 100,000 people earning their living in the fishery sector, including 50,000 artisanal fishermen organized in groups that fish in teams and share equipment.
As part of the National Development Plan to improve production quality and living standards in artisanal fishing communities the Angolan government is providing microcredit and regional support centers with facilities for boat and gear maintenance, fish processing, and docks.
The Ministry of Fisheries works to address illegal fishing through operation of 15 patrol vessels procured from China and France, as well as two vessels funded by the Dutch government with installed vessel tracking technology.
Also, Angola collaborates with Namibia and South Africa to protect and survey the fishing grounds through a Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional program.
In addition to the Ministry of Fisheries efforts, an inter-agency Angolan government committee led by the Ministry of Defense operates a National Communication Service Center responsible for managing the safety and security of the activities in the national waters.
The Center’s primary responsibilities are protection of the oil production platforms as well as combatting illegal fishing and piracy.
In 2013, the AfDB extended a five-year, US$ 40 million loan to Angola for the Artisanal Fisheries Support Project.
The project was aimed to increase incomes of small-scale fishermen and traders through improved fishery infrastructure, to reduce post-harvest losses, and to improve the quantity and quality of fish capture and sales.
Aquaculture production in Angola is currently modest, with a focus on tilapia and catfish, but government efforts are underway to expand production, supported by a US$ 11.1 million loan from the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
By 2018 and 2019, Angolan authorities sought to reach more than 700,000 tons and 715,000 tons respectively of production per year through small-scale communal ponds and a limited number of medium to large-scale commercial aquaculture operations, but was unable to meet these goals due to lack of investments in the sector.
Alternatively, the government National Development Program foresees strategic projects to increase country production.
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