Angling to make ends meet

While some anglers whet their lines and appetites for recreational purposes, many are catching fish along the coastline to survive.



We strolled along the shore and caught up with some anglers while they were fishing. Hägar the Horrible (not his real name) had a lot to say. He hails from Lüderitz and his passion for fishing started while he was a high school learner. The 56-year-old angler comes to Platz am Meer at 06:00 every day. “I don’t go far because I cannot afford to go to locations like Mile 13.”



Hägar said fishermen with commercial licences catch thousands of fish and make good money. “I have been here since 06:00 and constantly have to throw back the undersized fish I catch. At the end of the day, I go home with three or four fish and sometimes none.”



He suggested that the fisheries ministry should call all unemployed persons who make a living from angling for a meeting. “They should write our names down and exempt us from having to pay for permits. Most of us cannot even afford to pay for permits. The fish we are allowed to catch and do catch occasionally does not make up for our day-to-day costs of living, such as keeping our kids at school, paying the rent and the water bill. It is difficult for us.”



Hägar saves some of the money he gets from selling the fish he catches. “I must pay N$3 300 rent every month. Things are also getting more expensive and yet nothing changes for us. In 2021, a sinker cost N$3. It increased to N$6 and now it goes for N$10.99. We cannot keep up. The government needs to step in.”



Avoiding crime

The crayfish bug bit Set Strauss in 1985. He is a tiler by profession but does not always get jobs. “I catch fish to keep myself off the street and to avoid committing crimes. I started fishing so I can make a living instead of going out in the streets and taking what does not belong to me.’



Strauss said he catches his quota of seven or eight crayfish on a good day. He uses black mussel as bait, a net and number two sinker, which he ties to the bottom of a nylon onion bag to attract the crayfish. He sells three or four crayfish and takes the rest home so his family has something to eat.



Making ends meet

Sakeus Amunyela, who hails from Oranjemund, taught himself how to fish. He is employed as a maintenance man and when there is no work, he goes fishing. “I sell what I catch to friends or neighbours to make ends meet and whenever I catch enough, I keep some for my household.”



Amunyela prefers to fish at the salt pans on the outskirts of Swakopmund during high tide. He usually leaves for his preferred spot early in the morning on his bicycle. He is not in favour of fishing at Platz am Meer.

“I don’t think it’s safe because sometimes the water gets rough and the rocks get slippery,” he said.



Hooked

Brandon Appollus was born and raised in Karasburg and came to Swakopmund 20 years ago in search of a better life.



He is a qualified lab technician but has struggled to find a steady job. “I did not like it at first, but fishing hooked me.” He, like many other anglers, buys his fishing equipment from the local tackle shops. “I’ve been fishing for a year and do so daily. I enjoy fishing because it keeps me off the streets, but most importantly, because I can feed my family because of fishing.”



According to Appollus, fishing is a dirty game. “There are areas like Mile 13 where certain individuals do not allow any fishermen. The competition is tough and what’s worse is that most of them are fishing illegally. They use worms and already have warrants against their names, yet they still fish.”



‘Gives me peace’

Tamie Taurob is a tiler by profession.



He started fishing in 2017 as a side hustle and uses white and black mussels as bait. Taurob explained that it’s not easy to find a job and fishing is his day-to-day source of income, even though there are days he goes home without catching a single fish. “I don’t even have a permit because I cannot afford to pay N$14 a week for it. But fishing fills empty stomachs and gives me peace.”