Marco Fishing’s expansion in Lüderitz progressing
Since its formed partnership with Mekarilakha Fishing, Marco Fishing has steadily been working on their expansion plan for their Lüderitz factory.
The construction project for the factory upgrade and enlargement is well under way as well as the last phase of the construction of their new dedicated longline fishing vessel, the M.F.V. MEKA BAY.
According to the company, the new factory and related processing capability as well as the new vessel will result in additional job creation in excess of 100 people.
Marco Fishing and Mekarilakha Fishing (MEKA) pooled their resources, with MEKA taking up shares in Marco in January 2016. The company is now in a position to exploit the fishing rights and quotas of both right holders. Apart from the hake quotas of both Marco and MEKA this also includes the large pelagic fishing rights granted to companies affiliated to Marco.
Marco Fishing is one of the smaller hake right holders and has been operating in Lüderitz since 1993. The company also diversified by investing in the large pelagic sector. Mekarilakha Fishing is a Joint Venture (JV) of five new right holders, as grouped together by the MFMR.
By acquiring shares in Marco, the company has made a significant investment in ownership of fishing vessels and processing facilities, joint control, Lüderitz based operations and contribution to new and existing job security.
With the additional hake quota available to the company the board made the decision in middle 2016 to expand the factory and the Marco fleet by ordering a new hake longline vessel. This vessel is currently in the final stages of construction and should be operational in November 2017.
The M.F.V MEKA BAY is said to be the largest fibreglass vessel constructed to date in the Southern Hemisphere. The vessel is 30 metres in overall length, 8 metres wide and will be able to accommodate 38 crew.
Caption: Marco CEO, Kurt Laufer (left) and Marco Fishing Board member, Peter-John Sylvester at the newly installed plate freezers.
