Africa-Press – Angola. Fish catch levels at the Hady Wabo artisanal fishing cooperative, located in Mussulo, Luanda, have increased since June this year from 1,000 to 2,500 per month, said the organisation’s president, João Francisco.
The leader of the cooperative told that, from January to the end of May of the current year, the catch was around 1,000 to 1,100 kilograms per month.
Speaking of the destination of the fish, the official said that it is sold to companies and individuals, but stressed that most of the fish is sold after drying to various areas of Luanda and other provinces such as Cuanza Sul, Cuanza Norte, Uíge, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje and Democratic Republics of Congo.
The most captured species in the region are sardines, cod, corvina, garopa, cachucho, sebra and macoa.
He also referred that the periods of greatest capture are the months of May to October, contrary to the months that go from November to April, considered lacking in fish.
Cooperative seeks microcredit
However, the organization lacks micro-credit to increase the capture capacity and increase the supply, making the product more accessible and cheaper.
The president of the cooperative made it known that around 150 million kwanzas are needed for the recovery of some vessels, the purchase of 15 engines, an equal number of barges (vessels), as well as the acquisition of fishing equipment such as cables, nets, hooks, lead and buoys.
Judging by the fishing potential of the region, he appealed to businessmen to invest in the construction of shops, fish processing factories and other services to support the activity, such as the rehabilitation of the road between Ramiros/Buraco and the regular supply of drinking water, aiming to contribute to the diversification of the local and national economy.
In the neighborhood of Buraco, the Instituto de Pesca Artesanal (IPA) controls five cooperatives, with a cluster of 500 people involved in direct and indirect fishing activities.
The Hady Wabo cooperative, an expression in the national Kimbundu language, which means suffering is over in Portuguese, was created five years ago, has five vessels with the same number of engines and employs 25 workers.
Regarding the drying of fish, he said that dozens of women climb, salt and dry fish in an artisanal way on the beach in the neighborhood of Buraco.
The women who carry out this activity come from other areas of Luanda and neighboring provinces. They work in artisanal or private fishing cooperatives, where they seek to support their families.
The work is done along the beach, in groups of seven to ten women, some with children on their backs, in inadequate conditions and without any technical knowledge.
The neighborhood of Buraco is the only place in Mussulo where you can travel by road. It is located 15 kilometers from Estrada Nacional 100 (EN-100) south, from the commune of Barra do Kwanza, municipality of Belas.
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