Africa-Press – Angola. Fish catches grew 16.7 percent in Kwanza-Sul last year, rising to 28,000 tonnes, up from 24,000 tonnes the previous year, the head of the provincial department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Fernando Sanito.
Sardines, with 12,000 tonnes, accounted for 33 percent of catches, followed by the marionga species with 2,091 tonnes, and others such as sword and cachucho, which together yielded over 1,000 tonnes.
In continental fisheries, he said, production was between 400 and 500 tons per month throughout 2021, while in the field of aquaculture, 400 tons per month were obtained. The Emirais company alone recorded average catches of 300 tonnes every 30 days.
Last year, he continued, about nine thousand and 539 tons of fish were transformed into dried fish.
Fernando Sanito stressed that, in the province, he has 34 cooperatives in the municipalities of Porto-Amboim and Sumbe, with 12 operating in the area of catching, processing and marketing fish, in addition to two support centers for capture, salting and drying, benefiting 204 workers.
Eight hundred and eighteen vessels operate in the fishing sector of Kwanza-Sul, with 10 dedicated to industrial fishing, three to semi-industrial and 805 to artisanal fishing, although the absence of a fishing port in the province means that the major shipowners transfer part of the operations to Benguela and Namibe.
The sector provides employment for 2,000 workers, including a majority of former combatants from the extinct FAPLA and FALA, grouped in fishing cooperatives created on the basis of the Socio-Professional Reintegration Program for ex-Military members.
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