The appeal made by the president of APASIL, Manuel Azevedo, refers to the FST Angola consortium, suspected of capturing horse mackerel during the closed season in the seas of Namibe province, information refuted by the company.
"That a commission be created with all the bodies to assess what is actually happening or has happened and whether or not this fish actually exists", urged Manuel Azevedo, in statements to the press at a conference on blue economy.
For Manuel Azevedo, it is nonsense that the authorities request "that this fish be unloaded to the body that seized it, which does not even have refrigerated chambers, it does not have the conditions".
"Why does the shipowner who has the conditions not keep the seized product in their chambers", he questioned, stressing that his associate is also afraid of this type of operation, fearing that "elements may be introduced that could compromise" the company.
"At that moment, the shipowner, and we, the association, asked for common sense [from the authorities], that a commission be created that will assess box by box, species by species, in accordance with the regulations", he added.
According to Manuel Azevedo, this situation has been going on for more than 40 days, involving four vessels loaded with fish, with more than 20,000 boxes of fish, following a complaint "which was made by some elements in the province of Namibe".
On this subject, the director of the provincial office for Fisheries and the Sea of Namibe, Piedade Guanhe, quoted by the Angolan press, said that if the violation of the closed period, which runs from 1 June to 31 August, is proven, the product will be reverted in favor of the State and its authors held accountable.
