following the first Ministerial Conference of the Benguela Current Commission
in Windhoek, Namibia
20 July 2007
Minister Van Schalkwyk today participated in the first Ministerial
Conference of the Benguela Current Commission being held in Windhoek. This
Commission, launched in Cape Town last year, facilitates closer co-operation
between South Africa, Namibia and Angola regarding the management of the
valuable industrial fisheries resources and biodiversity of the Benguela
ecosystem.
The Minister noted that "the establishment of the Benguela Current
Commission is a major milestone in regional co-operation and ocean governance
by the three countries. The sustainable harvesting of our marine resources is
key to implementing the ecosystem approach to fisheries and ocean management
for the benefit of our present and future generations, and to ensure food
security and sustainable job creation."
When looking at the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) as a
whole, it is clear that environmental variability plays a significant role in
regulating the abundance and availability of living marine resources. During
some years, extreme environmental events occur that severely impact the
fisheries and food security in the region.
South Africa has led several key BCLME projects that are modelling the ocean
processes and developing an ability to forecast these extreme events. This
includes the development of an early warning and state of the ecosystem
information system.
"Good management of hake stocks would protect thousands of jobs and will
continue to generate significant foreign exchange earnings for South Africa and
Namibia. Shared stocks between our two countries means that co-operation is
essential to ensuring that there are no irresponsible fishing practices, which
could have disastrous consequences for both economies. The hake fishery
accounts for more than 50% of the wealth derived from South Africa's living
marine resources, and sustains thousands of jobs," said the Minister.
The outputs of these and many other BCLME projects are greatly assisting the
three countries in implementing the ecosystem approach to management and
meeting our international obligations within the frameworks of the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals, the World Summit for Sustainable
Development (WSSD), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Fisheries
Protocol and the objectives of New Partnership for African Development
(Nepad).
Media enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
20 July 2007
