Angola’s Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Carmen do Sacramento Neto, announced on Tuesday that the Artisanal Fishing Support Centre in Nzeto municipality, Zaire province — inaugurated in 2021 — will be rehabilitated within days, as part of a broader national programme to revitalise similar facilities across the country.
Speaking to the press following a ceremony in which fishing materials were distributed to cooperatives in Nzeto municipality, the minister said a rehabilitation programme for Artisanal Fishing Support Centres has already been drawn up at the national level.
‘We are revitalising the process in all provinces where similar projects exist, so that we can bring these centres into the network of structures that receive production coming from the sea,’ she said.
According to the minister, the plan is also to transform the Nzeto centre into a fish reception market — known as a fish auction house, or lota — and to oversee the trading process between producers and first-level buyers.
Carmen do Sacramento Neto also expressed concern over artisanal fishing vessels operating in areas close to oil platforms in the region. She noted that Angolan legislation is explicit on the matter, establishing a one-mile exclusion zone around oil rigs to prevent contact between artisanal vessels and offshore petroleum infrastructure.
‘What we are now doing is changing our approach somewhat. First, we will provide vessels with greater navigational capacity, and then introduce the concept of seamanship to our fishers and try to bring them closer to the rules and best practices of navigation and fishing,’ she said.
During her visit to Nzeto, the minister — who is on a two-day working tour of Zaire province — was received by the provincial governor, Adriano Mendes de Carvalho.
Carmen do Sacramento Neto is scheduled to conduct a similar activity on Wednesday in Soyo municipality.
Zaire province has a maritime coastline of 250 kilometres, spanning the municipalities of Soyo, Nzeto, Quêlo and Tomboco.
The rehabilitation initiative reflects a wider push by the Angolan government to strengthen the artisanal fishing sector’s infrastructure, improve the value chain from sea to market, and ensure the safety of small-scale fishing operations in proximity to the country’s offshore oil and gas fields.
Source: ANGOP / Original article: https://www.angop.ao/noticias/economia/centro-de-apoio-a-pesca-artesanal-do-nzeto-sera-reabilitado/
