Staff Reporter
NAMIBIA and South Africa have concluded their first joint sea-based fisheries patrol, with the 25-day operation recording 94 vessel sightings, 12 inspections, 12 fisheries infractions, five fines, one case docket and the detention of a fishing vessel, while approximately 32 tonnes of fish were seized.
The operation was conducted from 5 to 30 September aboard the Namibian fisheries patrol vessel Anna Kakurukaze Mungunda, covering the two countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).
The patrol aimed to strengthen fisheries compliance, combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and protect shared marine resources within the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem.
Photos: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Land Reform
The operation also resulted in the confiscation of non-compliant fishing gear.
Speaking at the closing ceremony in Walvis Bay, Marisa Kashorte, Director of International Relations at South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, emphasised the importance of bilateral cooperation in protecting shared ocean resources.
“Our maritime boundaries do not divide us. Rather, they connect us through a shared responsibility to protect the Benguela ecosystem and the valuable marine resources upon which so many livelihoods depend,” Kashorte said.
Hafeni Mungungu, Director of Operations at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform and Co-Chair of the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Sub-Committee, said the operation demonstrated how bilateral commitments could be translated into practical cooperation at sea.
“We have taken the theory of transboundary co-management and put it into physical, tangible practice across our Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs),” Mungungu said.
The joint deployment brought together fisheries enforcement officers and operational teams from both countries, combining at-sea patrols with intelligence-sharing and land-based monitoring to strengthen enforcement across their respective maritime jurisdictions.
The Anna Kakurukaze Mungunda, which flies the Namibian flag, was built in 2003 and is configured for specialised patrol operations. The 59-metre vessel has a deadweight tonnage of 1,490 metric tonnes and a gross tonnage of 1,413 tonnes.
