Staff Reporter
EMPLOYEES of Etosha Fishing Corporation (Pty) Ltd and members of the Mining, Metal, Maritime and Construction Workers (MMMC) Union have gathered in front of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources after workers were left without any income for the past seven months due to a lack of quota allocation.
Joseph Garoeb, the Secretary-General of the MMMC Union, said that more than 430 Namibian workers have largely been without meaningful employment since December 2025 due to the absence of a pilchard quota allocation.
“The 2026 pilchard season commenced on 1 April 2026, yet no pilchard quota has been allocated. More than three months of the fishing season have already been lost,” the Secretary-General said in a petition.
Garoeb said the same situation occurred in 2025 when the 10,000-ton Government Objective Fishing Quota was only allocated towards the end of August, despite the season commencing in April.
“Every month of delay causes further hardship to workers and their families; it reduces the economic benefits that could be generated from the resources,” Garoeb said.
He added that Etosha Fishing Corporation is currently the only local company that is internationally accredited for pilchard canning.
Garoeb said government scientific surveys have confirmed substantial recovery of the pilchard biomass, stressing that the allocation of 10,000 to 30,000 tons would not jeopardise the continued recovery of the stock.
At the time of publishing, workers were still awaiting officials from the Fisheries Ministry to receive their petition and respond to their concerns.
The protest comes at a time when SWAPO MP Salomon April this week tabled a motion in Parliament in which he raised concern that fishing quotas are allocated to an elite few, while the masses continue to face socio-economic hardships.
DISHEARTENED: Joseph Garoeb speaks to Informanté on issues affecting workers.
