Catching shrimp skimmed from surface waters in Mozambique has been restricted after the National Institute for Fishing Research concluded that the shrimp was reaching its exploration limits, the deputy minister for Fishing, Gabriel Muthisse said.

Speaking to Mozambican news agency AIM, the deputy minister said that the decision to restrict catches had been made in order for this marine resource to be preserved and to prevent the, “risk of a disaster very soon.”

Mozambique currently catches around 12,000 tons of shrimp per year, 7,000 to 8,000 tons of which is caught by industrial and semi-industrial fishing techniques and the remainder, calculated to total 4,000 to 5,000 tons, caught by artisanal fishermen.

Last week, Mozambique granted Namibia a fishing quota of 35,930 tons of a variety of species, including shrimp, but Muthisse said this was deep sea shrimp and not surface shrimp which, as it is easier to catch, requires less technology to catch and is close to exhausting its stocks.

The government’s decision to limit surface shrimp exploration is based on the conclusion of research by the National Institute for Fishing Research, to determine stock levels and is then used as a basis for setting maximum catches, the closed season, and the number of fishing vessels that can be used. (macauhub)