White Paper on the Responsible Management of the Inland Fisheries of Namibia.

The White Paper on the Responsible Management of the Inland Fisheries of Namibia (1995) spells out the policy of the Government of Namibia towards the management of its fresh water fish resources in the Namibian inland waters as listed in Appendix III. It will form the basis for the drafting of an Act to regulate the utilisation, conservation and management of the fresh water fish resource. Aquaculture will be addressed in separate policy documentation. The Policy is based on the following principles. (a) As a broad principle the approach is to allow sustainable utilisation of resources but to also protect the biediversity of the Namibian inland fish fauna. () In consideration of the diverse nature of the different systems, different management approaches are devised to deal with the circumstances particular to the different river systems. (c) The protection of the interests of subsistence households in terms of the availability of fish from the rivers as a supplement to diets is given priority and the need to control the commercialisation of the resources is emphasised. (d) The control of fishing and the protection of the resources through gear restrictions is adopted. Preference is given to passive gear over active gear and traditional gear in preference to modern nets. It is accepted that control and law enforcement is to be carried out by police officers and law enforcement personnel alveady employed by other Ministries with the assistance of traditional communities and the traditional authorities. A limited number of fisheries extension/liaison and law enforcement officers will represent the Ministry of Fisheries in rural communal areas. The principle that local people in communal areas should share in the income generated by commercialisation or use of communal resources is followed. Future research policies on inland fish and the founding of a multi-disciplinary research station to eventually serve the region is addressed. The need for regional co-operation on inland waters and related matters between states in the region that share river basins is emphasised.