Etosha Fishing Enterprises is investing at least
N$24 million in a new fishmeal plant that will produce fishmeal of a higher
protein content while saving on energy costs.
The old fishmeal plant, in operation since 1965,
is currently being demolished. According to Etosha Fishing Managing Director
Pieter Greeff the new plant should be ready for operation in September 2016 and
will be able to process up to 300 tonnes of raw fish per day. Fishmeal is
produced from leftovers of the canning and wet fish processes in other parts of
the factory.
“The investment in the new plant means that
fishmeal will be steam dried, delivering a higher protein content product more
suitable to the international market. The way the new plant is designed will
also save on energy costs because 80 percent of the steam will be reused in the
evaporators. After the waste steam has gone through all the processes it will
be processed through a seawater scrubber to minimise the odour associated with
fishmeal plants,” says Greeff.
Etosha Fishing, then known as the Walvis Bay
Canning Company, pioneered Namibia’s fishing industry in the 1940s with the
country’s first fishmeal and canning plant. Today Etosha Fishing is considered
to be one of the best canning facilities in the world with HACCP compliance and
EU accreditation.
Throughout its history the company has
contributed to the dramatic increase in the utilisation of pilchards for human
consumption. Etosha Fishing is proudly associated with the Lucky Star brand,
the canned fish market leader in Southern Africa and well-known in many world
markets, through a shareholding agreement with Oceana Group Limited concluded
in 2000.
In recent years the company broke ground with the introduction of
Namibia’s first canned horse mackerel product range called EFUTA Maasbanker,
the first Namibian canned product to receive the NSI Standard Mark of
Conformity product endorsement. It also carries Halaal Certification and is a
proudly Namibian product displaying the Team Namibia logo. It was successfully
introduced to the Namibian retail market, now available on the shelves of all
major retailers, and continue to achieve huge success as an export product to
other southern African markets.
The canning of EFUTA
Maasbanker was a direct response to repeated calls by the Ministry of Fisheries
and Marine Resources for employment creation and value addition in the fishing
sector, which is directly in line with the Government’s Vision 2030 and NDP4
policy framework. It also materialised Etosha Fishing’s vision of putting the
country’s most valuable fish resource in a can, offering the nation an
affordable, nutritious meal from the sea.
Etosha Fishing is
well-known for its innovative thinking in order to ensure the sustainability of
the company and the development of the local fishing industry. With Namibia’s
pilchard resources under pressure, it has been importing in excess of 20,000
metric tons of frozen pilchards for processing on local soil since 2010, which
has contributed to more than 40 weeks of additional employment for seasonal
workers during the 2010 to 2014 period. Etosha Fishing’s allocated total
allowable catch (TAC) of pilchard and horse mackerel only provides employment
for approximately 4 months of the year. Through these imports jobs are extended
by at least another 5 months of the year.
