Three million meticais in fines for illegal fishing in Maputo, mostly artisanal

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Three million meticais in fines for illegal fishing in Maputo, mostly artisanal

4:20 CAT | 05 Jul 2019

in file CoM

The Mozambican state applied a total of three million meticais (around US$48,200) in fines for illegal fishing in the province of Maputo in the first half of this year, a Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries source has said.

“These fines carry dire consequences for fishermen, who usually have very low incomes,” José Cuna said.

The majority of these fishermen practise artisanal fishing, which leads the authorities to equate illegal fishing with ignorance of the law governing the activity, Cuna said.

“In many cases, these fishermen can hardly read,” José Cuna told a press conference in Maputo called to present a review of the first half of the year.

The three million meticais cited resulted from fines imposed on 237 vessels caught by authorities either fishing without a license or using prohibited gear.

“They will have to pay and consequently forfeit the instruments they used for illegal fishing,” Cuna said, adding that, of the total value, only 30% had so far been collected.

Official figures suggest that Mozambique loses US$67 million (EUR 59.37 million) annually to illegal fishing, and needs to strengthen its fishing inspection system.

Source: Lusa