EtoshaFishing

Continued from page 1 reprieve, retracting the termination notices issued to employees in March and April.While this quota offers shortterm relief, the companyacknowledgesthat it will not be sufficient to ensure long-term sustainability The ActingManagingDirector, Volker Paulsmeier, said in a statement, "the allocation of the 5000mtreliefquotaisonlya short-term relief measureandwillnotbeable to sustain operations in thelongterm.

Operations at the cannery will however not commence with immediate effect as the companyisintheprocessof sourcing catch capacity to land the quota, however,isconfidentthatit will be able to do so within the 2023 fishing season ”Paulsmeier further added that the last couple of years have arguably been the mostdifficultinthehistory of their existence, with consecutive losses recorded annually “As a result, we requested 10 000 MT of horse mackerel from the government to keep the company afloat.”He also indicated that the quota given by the government isonlyashort-termrelief measure and will not be abletosustainoperations inthelongterm. Paulsmeier said, “employeeswillhowevernot beexpectedbackatwork immediately, as they will have to work on a turnaround strategy to make thecompanymoreprofitable. We will be kept abreast of developments at the company.We are extremely grateful to the Government and the Ministry of Fisheries for this lifeline. It prevents thecanneryfromshutting its doors for good. The relief quota buys us a little more time to refine and put in place our turnaround strategy to ensure extended employment terms for our workers as part of our long-term sustainability strategy He explained that diversification is pivotal to the future success of the company “These plans however need time and investments for implementation.”

Paulsmeier expressed his appreciationtowardsthe company's employees for their patience and resilience amid trying times.“Ourworkforceis atthecentreofallofthe company's efforts to remain operational,” he assured. Though operations at the cannery will not begin immediately, thecompanyisconfident that it will secure catch capacitywithinthe2023 fishing season to fully utilise the allocated quota.Paulsmeierassured the employees that they will be kept informed of the developments and the company's efforts to becomemoreprofitable. As the last couple of years have been among the most difficult in the company's history, Paulsmeier applauded the resilience of the employees amid challenging times. He assured them that the workforceremainsatthecore of all efforts to keep the company operational.“Ourworkforceis atthecentreofallofthe company's efforts to remain operational,” he assured.