14 Jun 2020

 Department of Wildlife and National Parks regional coordinator, Mr Dimakatso Ntshebe says commercial fishing in the Okavango Delta is still suspended due to non-availability of water in other fishing zones.

He revealed in an interview that the department took a decision to demarcate the delta into seven fishing zones and each zone would be allocated quotas.

The zones, he said started from Okavango up to Lake Ngami and each zone has its own carrying capacity, which is determined every year depending on the water levels.

Currently, he said they were waiting to establish if other water sources in the said zones would fill up and once they had been determined applications would be opened for fishermen.

Since some water sources had filled up, he said, only subsistence fishing using a hook was allowed.

In an effort to control and regulate commercial fishing in the delta, Mr Ntshebe said the department through the Fisheries unit had introduced a system where  fishing licences  would be issued through a raffle.

Due to high demand of applications for commercial fishing, the department had to make an administrative decision to control number of licences and fish population.

He noted that the department was also concerned about the environmental challenges brought about by fishermen.

Meanwhile, some fishermen have accused the department of denying them the right to fish as their licences were still valid.

They argued that they stopped fishing because of the drying up of water sources and now they had filled up. Fishermen called on government to lift the  fishing ban  just like other sectors of the economy. They said COVID-19 pandemic had equally affected them.

In addition, they said they had secured a lucrative market at the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia hence they wanted their businesses to bounce back.

They said they were ready to ensure compliance to the COVID-19 safety measures.

One of the fishermen, Mr Motlhatlhobi Motlhasedi of Boyei ward in Maun who had been assisted through poverty eradication programme said since he got his license, he had never traded because of the drying of the river.

He said he had been struggling to make ends meet while he had a permit for fishing.

Mr Othuseng Kemo from Ditshiping village expressed disappointment about the suspension of fishing, noting that the community depended mostly on the delta and Thamalakane River for survival.

In response, the regional wildlife coordinator, Mr Ntshebe said all licenses for commercial fishing had expired, adding that only poverty eradication beneficiaries’ licences were valid. He said poverty eradication beneficiaries were allowed to fish in their allocated zones, adding that if the water had not yet reached their fishing areas, they could contact the department for guidance and direction. ENDS