Namibia has become a centre of MCS excellence since gaining its independence in 1990. Minister Iyambo explains to Sally Frankcom, of the Stop Illegal Fishing Programme, how Namibia is looking forward to seeing greater regional cooperation in the fight to stop illegal fishing.

Namibia has one of the most productive fishing grounds in the world. This is due to the sea off Namibia having exceptional biological productivity as a result of the upwelling of nutrients resulting from the Benguela current. Prior to Namibian independence in 1990, uncontrolled fishing on a massive scale greatly reduced the abundance of all the major fish stocks. During the 1960s factory ships undertook fish processing at sea outside the then 22 kilometres jurisdiction of Namibia’s fisheries administration, leading to the serious depletion of pilchard and anchovy stocks.

The late 1960s and 1970s saw the development of long distance freezer trawlers further increasing foreign interest in Namibia’s offshore fishing grounds, and increasing reported hake catches from under 50 000 metric tons in 1964 to 820 000 metric tons in 1972.

Minister Iyambo recounts that, in March 1990, on the eve of independence, "the founding President of the country requested that all those fishing nations that were operating in Namibia leave our waters in order to allow us to put in place necessary laws, starting with the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Marine Resources Act. Some operators, from some countries did not heed to that. They refused to go. They continued to try and be clever. We arrested them with the assistance of your colleagues from South Africa. At the time we did not have our own equipment. We did not have our own patrol vessels or patrol planes. They were arrested and in a court of law these vessels were confiscated. They became the property of the Government of Namibia. This sent a clear and unambiguous message that the new Namibia is serious about protecting its resources."

These high profile and dramatic arrests effectively ended the plunder of Namibian fish resources by foreign distant-water fleets that had been going on for decades. Scientists reported that this action had come just in time, as the valuable hake fishery had been fished down to levels that would very soon have been depleted beyond recovery.

When other small coastal States had found it impossible to effectively control such operations in their EEZs, they faced little real alternative than to sanction continuation of the foreign operations through licensing arrangements that did not leave them in real control. Namibia was also quick to put in place measures to reap the rewards from sustainable utilisation of its fisheries. "In Namibia we shied away from Access Agreements. That is why we placed priority on learning how to manage our resources and how to control the fishing activities within our EEZ."

Monitoring, control and surveillance

Namibia’s monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) system has evolved over the years into what is today widely regarded by the international community as a very effective system. There was initial‚ support for Namibia from Norway to invest in patrol vessels, but crucially there has been the financial, human and material support from the Namibian Government itself.

Minister Iyambo explains that "MCS is not an easy thing: firstly it is costly; secondly, it needs human resources. For Namibia, fisheries contribute more than 25% of the value of our exports. We have just no choice but to invest in equipment, invest in personnel and put up a very visible, very clear regime."

An integrated programme of inspection and patrols at sea, on land, and in the air ensures continuing compliance with Namibia’s fisheries laws. "If you are leaving our ports, at Walvis Bay or Luderitz, we have nearly 100% observer coverage. We have close to 200 observers that we deploy. The observer regime adds to the better management of fisheries by ensuring compliance and collecting scientific information. It has worked well. We have strengthened it with a vessel monitoring system (VMS) a computer system that controls the whereabouts of vessels from the port of Walvis Bay."

In addition to the observer programme, Namibia has two aircraft operating air patrols to detect and deter unlicensed fishing vessels and monitor the movement and operations of the licensed fleet. Shore patrols by the three patrol vessels ensure compliance by both recreational and commercial fishers with conservation measures for inshore resources.

Complete monitoring of all landings at the two commercial fishing ports, Walvis Bay and Luderitz, by onshore inspectors ensure compliance with quota limits and associated fee payments. The only real weakness in a very effective MCS system is that of the penalties imposed for illegal fishing. Minister Iyambo says, "What we as an inspectorate can give and suggest as a penalty was always very low. At the moment the penalties are ‘business as usual’. It’s like you pat someone on the back for fishing illegally. It is not a deterrent. So what is required is to review the penalties both in the EEZ and as part of the regional organisations."

Illegal fishing

"Illegal fishing is a big issue and it is taking place under the nose of many countries. It is, therefore, the responsibility of us as MPs, as politicians, as managers, to ensure that we have national laws, but that we also contribute internationally. The illegal fish are landed at ports, and the ports are in the jurisdiction of States, of countries. If the fish are landed in Walvis Bay, in Maputo or Durban there should be the political will for us to stop this. Most fishing takes place under a regulatory regime with a license. This includes what we call ‘Flags of Convenience’ vessels. I call it a ‘Flag of inconvenience’. There is nothing convenient about it: they fish illegally and contribute to overfishing and destruction and plunder of the natural resources."

Namibia is the only SADC country that has fully implemented its National Plan of Action on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (NPOA-IUU). Minister Iyambo stresses the importance of getting such a plan in place. "This is not a problem of one country or the SADC region. It is a global problem and we need to be able to act. But the time of tough words, the time of cosy boardrooms and talking nicely, the time of talking has come to an end. We can have all these wonderful action plans, but if countries are not taking action to be able to punish those who are concentrating on illegal fishing we will go back to the past.

Globally we have been talking about a lot of these issues but I think that there is a lack of political will. Experts in the world, they can talk as much as they want, non-governmental organisations can talk as much as they want. The politicians, because they have that privilege of having the power to take actions, should come to the table. Experts have done their jobs. But if we as responsible managers, Ministers, do not take action on the nationals and the multinational companies and our responsibilities then we should forget about protecting the precarious state of the world’s fisheries. Plunder will continue, over-fishing will continue, mismanagement will continue.

We should maybe treat fisheries in the same way that we deal with drugs. You are not allowed to traffic drugs. Transporting illegal fish should become illegal. Maybe through the UN Law of the Sea we should have an appendix making that an offence. So we have the action plan in Namibia. We are commending it to other countries so that we are able to fight IUU, taking action. Not a plan of talk, but a plan of action."

Regional and international cooperation

Namibia is not just interested in looking after its own waters; Minister Iyambo has played a prominent role internationally with his participation in the international High Seas Task Force (HSTF), through SADC and through Namibia’s active involvement with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO).

"We are members of ICCAT and we play our responsibilities to that: to ensure that tuna is wellmanaged in the world, taking into account its vulnerability because of its straddling, migratory nature. We are also members of CCAMLR. I am very proud to say that Peter Amutenya, Namibia’s MCS Director, is the chairman of this organisation for the next two years, till 2009. I am happy that we are contributing to the management of Patagonian toothfish.

SEAFO was an idea that the current President, when he was the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, was driving with so much energy, and when I took over from him we discussed the importance of establishing this organisation. It was an idea of Angola, South Africa and Namibia to have such an organisation and we are happy that many countries with an interest in the region joined us in this.

With respect to the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) of ICCAT, CCAMLR and SEAFO, we are playing our role. We are prepared to share our limited experience and we are prepared to do it generously so that we protect the resources of the sea."

Minister Iyambo is clear that "the SADC region should not be an area where the pirates come and plunder. It should not be a source for illegally fished products or a transit for those who want to go to the market with illegal products. Through my experience with Namibia, with the international High Seas Task Force and with Africa, I think that I have learned quite a lot of things, and this leads me to believe that illegal fishing is a trans-national crime. It is a scourge. It is encouraging overcapacity in terms of fishing. It is encouraging the distortion of trade. It is something that we should jointly fight not only as a country but as a region."

Minister Iyambo suggests that a Southern African Task Force to Stop Illegal Fishing would be a positive way of tackling the issue. "It is just the right platform to launch our protracted campaign and fight against illegal fishing. So the energy is there. The political will is there. Yes, we need assistance: to be able to have more documentation analysing what is happening; for us to know who are these people who are involved in illegal fishing. So I do believe that we need a task force. A task force that will be hinged to the SADC Protocol on Fisheries; a task force that will not be there for talking, but a task force that will have teeth. That will be given, by our governments, a responsibility, a task to fight illegal fishing in the region and wherever it is taking place. SADC is only part of the bigger mother Africa. If we are to efficiently and positively fight illegal fishing then it should be made bigger as it is bigger. It should not just be part of the Southern African region.

There is a problem and our vulnerable communities are suffering and will continue losing. Our stocks are being destroyed. The generations to come will be more at peril. It is very important that we promote such an idea to the African Union, so that this becomes part of the African agenda, so that we can fight IUU fishing. So a task force, yes. But it should be a task force with teeth. We want industrialised nations to participate in such a task force, from where many of the people who are engaged in IUU fishing are coming from, so that apart from benefiting from Africa the time has come now to protect those resources jointly with us. We are thinking much bigger than the region, we are thinking for the world at large."