Africa-Press – Cape verde. Fishing in the municipality of Porto Novo faces “immense challenges”, including the lack of infrastructure to support fishing activity and difficulties in accessing credit for the purchase of fishing equipment.
This is the understanding of fishing operators in this municipality who, among the many challenges facing the sector, point out the need for the Government to move forward with the construction of the promised fishing port, a “structuring” infrastructure for fishing in Porto Novo and Santo Antão, in general.
The president of the Porto Novo Fishermen’s Association, Atlermiro Neves, has no doubt that the fishing pier is a “strategic investment” for the entire island of Santo Antão, regretting that this project is being postponed by the Government, which could discourage operators who intend to invest in this field.
“The construction of a fishing pier represents one of the immense challenges facing the fishing sector on the island of Santo Antão. It is a strategic investment for this island, given the size that this sector is gaining on this island”, he noted.
This official uses the fact that Santo Antão has “one of the largest fishing fleets at a semi-industrial level” to argue that this island already deserves a fishing port, located in the city of Porto Novo, to serve all Santo Antão operators.
For Atlermiro Neves, “fishermen do not accept the postponement of the fishing port project”, urging the Government to move forward with this infrastructure, so much desired by seafarers, considering that postponing this investment could “demobilize” the operators.
In addition to the fishing pier, fishermen in different communities want the construction of boat landings and community support houses, as well as improvements in terms of fish conservation.
Isaías Pires, from the Tarrafal de Monte Trigo Fishermen’s Association, defends the construction of “a small fishing pier” in this area, where one of the largest fishing banks in the North of the country, the Noroeste bank, is located.
This fisherman said that the class has been waiting “for several years” for the investments promised by the Government in fishing, namely in the construction of a small fishing pier, a fishing complex and support for operators in acquiring better vessels to be able to take advantage of the bank. of fishing.
The problem of fish conservation does not arise in the city of Porto Novo and Monte Trigo, unlike what is happening in Tarrafal, where conservation difficulties are keeping operators up at night, warned representative Carlos Pires.
The local fishermen’s association is looking for partners to purchase a one-ton ice production machine to meet the needs of the class, said the same source, also defending the need to create better conditions in the treatment of fish.
The transformation of fish is another aspiration of the class, which awaits the promised investments, particularly within the scope of the Terra Azul project.
This is a project promoted by the Association of Friends of Nature (AAN) and the Center for Rural Studies and International Agriculture (CERAI), co-financed by Spanish cooperation and the Ministry of the Sea, which foresees an investment of 70 thousand contos in fisheries on the islands of Santo Antão and São Vicente over the next two years.
The project, to which Inforpress had access, proposes, among other investments in the municipality of Porto Novo, the completion of the equipment of the fish processing unit in the city of Porto Novo, a project long awaited by fishing operators in Porto Novo.
In addition to completing the works on the processing unit, the project also foresees the creation of fish drying platforms in the fishing communities of Santo Antão, aiming to improve hygiene conditions and increase the value of the product.
Another challenge facing fisheries in the municipality of Porto Novo has to do with difficulties in accessing credit for the purchase of fishing equipment, highlighting the need for credit institutions to mitigate requirements and increase the amount allocated to loans.
In recent years, the Ministry of the Sea, through the Autonomous Fisheries Fund, made an amount of 18 thousand contos available to operators throughout the country, an amount that proved to be insufficient for the needs of fishermen, with the Minister of the Sea, during his visit to Santo Antão, he promised to “reinforce” this amount.
In relation to the fishing pier, the Minister of the Sea, on his most recent visit to Santo Antão, was confronted with this concern, which he said he took “good note of”, promising that “from the moment there is an extension of the port of Porto Novo, part of it will be used for fishing”.
The Government has already submitted the Porto Novo fishing pier project to the European Investment Bank for financing, but the Minister of the Sea admitted that the project could take time to complete, promising that, until then, part of the port will be dedicated to fishing activities.
In relation to the construction of landings, the Ministry of the Sea has at its disposal a financing package of 20 million euros (more than two million contos) to, among other projects, build landings in all fishing communities in the country, information advanced this week in Santo Antão by minister Abraão Vicente.
Regarding the expansion of the Porto Novo port, the European Investment Bank has already given guarantees to the Government that financing for the expansion of this port infrastructure will be made available, according to the Minister of the Sea.
In the State Budget for 2024, the Government allocated a budget of around 3.6 million euros (around 400 thousand contos) to expand the port of Porto Novo, making it 270 meters longer and ten meters deeper.
National Fisherman’s Day, which is celebrated on Monday, February 5th, was marked in the municipality of Porto Novo with the delivery of some handmade fibercraft vessels and the holding of several sporting activities, in addition to paying tribute to the operators.
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