24 Jun 2020

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) has lifted the commercial fishing ban in the Okavango Delta and other water bodies which have been filled up with water.

An official from DWNP, Mr Chief Tsholofelo informed members of the fish hunting committee that applications for commercial fishing would be opened starting June 29 until July 10 2020.

He also told committee members that there were new proposed numbers and quotas for zones under the Maun Sub-district.

He said for zone three which covers Maun, they had proposed 200 applicants. For zone five and six which covers Khwai and Mababe/Sankoyo a proposal of 10 applicants each while zone seven which covers Boteti would have a quota of 200. 

He indicated that they delayed lifting fishing hoping that other water bodies such as the lake would receive the inflows on time, but highlighted an influx of fishermen at their offices who called for the lifting of commercial fishing.

In addition, he said illegal fishing was worrisome as some people had started advertising their businesses and yet all commercial fishing licenses expired end of December last year.

The meeting, he said, aimed to map the way forward as they assumed fish was now available in many water bodies for the benefit of the community.

Mr Tsholofelo noted that some zones were in concessions owned by community trusts and stated that winners would be requested to ask permission from the concerned community trusts.

The committee was also informed that some poverty eradication beneficiaries had been issued with licenses to fish in all the seven zones. 

They were told that currently 90 of them still had licenses while four had died.

Since fishing has generated a lot of attention over the years, the committee has agreed to use the raffle system in an effort to control and regulate commercial fishing. The system would also ensure fairness and transparency.

The fish hunting committee has set July 16 to conduct the raffle at Maun main kgotla and winners would be issued with fishing licenses which run for three years.

Commercial fishing was suspended following the drying of some water bodies in the district which has been demarcated into seven fishing zones and each zone allocated with quotas. 

The zones were developed by grouping villages together looking at accessible fishing grounds and applicants are entitled to fish in one zone.

Zones one and two are at Okavango Sub-district while Maun Administrative Authority has five zones and currently only zone four, which covers Lake Ngami, did not receive water flows.

The committee learned that water affairs hydrologists had indicated that the water inflows were 40km away from the lake. Ends