SOFALA BANK: shrimp production with encouraging indices

Shrimp production is satisfactory to record levels in the Sofala bank, where the fishing operations were resumed after about three years of rigorous management measures, which included the reduction of the fleet of vessels involved in semi-industrial fishing. The provincial director of Fisheries in Sofala, John Saize, believes that the results are encouraging and there is a commitment of operators, which is directly reflected in the growth of production. According to projections of supply, the shrimp catch in the Sofala bank will reach an annual average of between two thousand and 2.5 thousand tons, which will be reflected as gains for the economy, since shrimp is a traditional export product. Preferably the Sofala shrimp is placed in European and Asian markets, especially Spain and China, respectively, and last year the capture of the species reached 1681 tons in semi industrial fishing and 1447 in artisinal fishing.
These results are prone to grow, according to our source, a result of efforts of all actors involved, in particular the Government and operators of industrial fishing, semi-industrial and artisanal. "As we know, the fish in general and shrimp, in particular, generate foreign currency and jobs for the population in the context of poverty reduction, contributing to the socio-economic and cultural development of Sofala province and the country in general",Saize said. Unfortunately, as mentioned, there are rogue fishermen who star in illegal fishing, use nets and gear prohibited by law, such as mosquito nets, threatening the development of the various species of fish. For this purpose,he called on all stakeholders to exercise greater vigilance to neutralize those entering this certain practice, which he regarded as "harmful and selfish." With a line length of 330 kilometers of coastline stretching from the mouth of the Save River, passing through the city of Beira, to the mouth of the Zambezi River, the province of Sofala has a maritime wealth, enjoying therefore a fishing potential, as shown by the abundance of shrimp.