Cases / Fishing ban · Namibia · 1994–2024
Namibia landed thousands of tonnes of pilchard as bycatch under moratorium
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Pilchard bycatch of 12,610 tonnes was landed in 2024 under a moratorium meant to protect the stock. Whether the stock is recovering is disputed, so the closure's effect on the species is not established.
What?
Namibia had a pilchard moratorium in force, and bycatch was still landed in 2023 and 2024 The Namibian
Where?
Namibia The Namibian
When?
Total allowable catch cut in 1995; bycatch recorded in 2023 and 2024 The Namibian
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Pilchard was landed as bycatch during the closure; the minister said some of it may not have been unintentional. The Namibian
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
The Namibian reported that the total allowable pilchard catch fell from 125,000 tonnes in 1994 to 40,000 tonnes in 1995.
Pilchard was still landed during the moratorium as bycatch: 6,504 tonnes in 2023 and 12,610 tonnes in 2024. The minister said this was not always unintentional.
An independent study by the Norwegian government in 2024 estimated the stock at about 1 million tonnes; the estimate is disputed.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the pilchard stock was 10 to 11 million tonnes in the 1960s and about 50,000 tonnes in 2015, a fall of 99.5%.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: scientists sought a moratorium from 1995, but a ban came only in 2018.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Etosha Fishing imported frozen sardines from Morocco and Mauritania during the closure, keeping more than 450 jobs.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the cabinet approved a quota of 10,000 tonnes in 2025.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say which companies gained from the bycatch landings or who bore the cost of the closure.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
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