Armed attacks compromise fishing in Cabo Delgado

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Armed attacks compromise fishing in Cabo Delgado

1:35 CAT | 08 Jun 2020

Photo: O País

Mozambique’s Minister of the Sea, Interior Waters and Fisheries, Augusta Maíta, says about 5,000 fishermen in the province of Cabo Delgado are not carrying out their usual activities because of the terrorist attacks in the province, O País reports.

According to government forecasts, Cabo Delgado was expected to produce around 40 tonnes of fish this year, but since the terrorists intensified their attacks, most fishermen have laid up their boats, and everything suggests that the planned targets will not be met.

“Traditionally, we have the districts of Mocímboa da Praia, Palma, Macomia with higher density in terms of [fishing] production. Not being able to produce in the way they should, given the circumstance of these terrorist attacks, our strategy was to change the focus and approach a little. [We decided] to look at districts like Mecúfi, Metuge, Ibo and Pemba, which we know have some potential. [These are districts where,] for various reasons, we had never made a particularly strong investment because we knew that eventually there were other districts that have, traditionally, always contributed more,” Minister Maita said.

The Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries has started installing fish farming tanks. in order to minimise the impact of terrorist attacks and encourage safer mariculture.

“The initial project foresees 100 tanks, so we started this phase with 40 fish tanks. We are talking about tanks with a coverage of up to 500 hectares, and we expect total production of about 27 tons when all tanks are operational,” the minister elaborated.

In addition to fishing, the terrorist attacks are jeopardising agricultural production, since most smallholders have abandoned their vegetable gardens because of the insecurity.

By Hizidine Achá

Source: O País