Maputo — The Mozambican Council of Ministers (Cabinet) on Tuesday approved a bill on fisheries, intended to make fishing more sustainable, and to guarantee greater respect for fishery resources.
According to the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Alberto Nkutumula, the bill, which seeks to overhaul the 1990 fisheries law, results from the dynamic of fisheries development, from the rising importance of fish farming, and from the demands of international markets concerning the quality of fisheries produce.
The bill also seeks to encourage activities that complement fishing (such as processing), and to adjust the fisheries administration to recent organisational changes arising from public sector reform.
Nkutumula told reporters that, in approving this bill, the government intends to establish norms “so that fishing becomes sustainable and takes into account the need to preserve the environment”.
One of the innovations in the bill is the inclusion of fish farming, in recognition of the growing importance of aquaculture. It is an area that was not covered by the 1990 law.
Nkutumula said that penalties for violating the norms contained in the bill include fines that range from 1,500 to 3.5 million meticais (from about 50 US dollars to 121,000 dollars).
The bill will now be submitted for approval to the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.
