Luanda - The fishing ban on horse mackerel along the Angolan coast for 2024 will be reduced from three to two months, due to their progressive reproduction, the National Fisheries Director Victor Chilamba said Tuesday in Luanda.
According to Chilamba, the sealing period for horse mackerel covers the months of June and July, when artisanal, semi-industrial and industrial ship-owners will have to exploit other marine species to allow horse mackerel to reproduce.
Chilamba said the measure follows recommendations made by the Council for Integrated Management of Aquatic Biological Resources and the Consultative Council of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MIN).
The national director added that a quota of 304,000 tonnes has been set by the council as the maximum volume of fish caught for semi-industrial and industrial ship-owners and that for artisanal fishmongers the recommended quota was set at 186,000 tonnes for Angola's seas.
Victor Chilamba said the overall quota of 500,000 tonnes is slightly lower than last year's figure, which was over 600,000 tonnes in all fishing segments, with the sardinella quota falling from 200 to 120,000 tonnes in 2024.
The director of the Planning and Statistics Study Office (GEPE) Joana Gomes said in 2023-2027 period, the Ministry will continue to develop actions to ensure sustainable, inclusive economic diversification led by the private sector.
Joana Gomes said the fisheries sector is developing a program for the sustainable exploitation of living aquatic resources and the development of sustainable aquaculture, within the framework of export diversification and import substitution. OPF/AC/DAN/AMP
