"Fortunately, the oceanographic vessel is in the final phase of conforming the unconformities it had and, soon, it will be with us and will play its role. Later this year, and we hope until April, it will be here, so in a month," said the holder of the Fisheries and Marine Resources portfolio, cited by Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA).
Carmen Santos explained that the vessel's problem was related to a probe that was necessary for measurements.
"It is a probe problem that has been resolved, because it is a probe that we need to take environmental measurements and see how far our network goes and this problem has already been resolved, therefore, he will be with us shortly until the end of March, beginning of April", reinforced the minister, who was speaking within the scope of the regional meeting on the coordination of monitoring, control and inspection of fishing in the SADC region, held this Tuesday, in Luanda.
It should be noted that the 'Baía Farta' was purchased from Romania, having arrived in Angola in 2018. However, it was only in 2021 that it completed the first phase of testing, and is currently in South Africa undergoing repairs.
Regarding this Tuesday's meeting, according to a statement from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, to which VerAngola had access, the minister highlighted that "unreported and unregulated illegal fishing (IUU) represents a critical global challenge, subtracting from significantly depleting economic and natural resources of the world economy and harming the marine ecosystem".
"The event featured an opening speech given by the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Carmen Santos, and was attended by members of the Government, members of the Defense and Security Bodies, a representative of the Embassy of the United States of America in Angola, members of the SADC Executive Secretariat and Fisheries Sector Technicians", the note reads.
