Fisheries sector of Mount Vema to receive additional funding – Reserve Bank

November 30, 2020 – The Reserve Bank of Mount Vema announced plans to inject additional funding into the Mount Vema fisheries sector next year to better prepare the Vema Seamount Territory to join the list of fish exporting countries by 2025.
 
The plan to become a top fish exporting country was first announced as part of a long-term strategy to help combat hunger with fish and fishery products. The territory plans to reach and maintain annual targets of 200,000+ tons by 2025, approximately 400 million golles of fish stocks from both capture and aquaculture.
 
The plans have been delayed to 2025 because it was cautioned by the Vema Seamount Authority in 2014 who was at the time reluctant to engage in commercial fishing activity over Vema Seamount, as he was more interested in good management of fisheries as essential to meet international obligations in terms of food supply.
 
The Vema Seamount Authority concerns back in 2014, was due to a report that fish trade was not only helping poor countries shore up their food security situation but was also increasing international demand that was at times resulting in excessive fishing pressure, leading to the over-fishing and wasteful use of stocks.
 
The Vema Seamount Authority aim was to ensure that demand must always be balanced with sustainable management.  Today’s announcement is another indication that the territory is getting ready to ensure that unregulated fishing activities within the Vema Seamount Territorial waters becomes a thing of the past, so sufficient fish can be exported by 2025, to increase job creation and improvements in government services.