By GINNAH MINI
The Namatanai District Development Authority (DDA) in partnership with National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has presented the design of the shorefront of Namatanai town area with the aim of developing the fisheries sector in the district.
The shorefront design will be implemented in partnership under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that was signed last year between the New Ireland Government and the NFA.
The project was planned and designed by JB Engineering Services, which will cost K7.3 million to implement. NFA will fund the design while the project will be funded by the Namatanai DDA.
Namatanai MP Walter Schnaubelt explained the proposed plan and said that the proposed development was designed for landing facility (for mini jetty), fish processing warehouse, public amenity area, eight market shelters and ice making facility to store fish.
“If we have the facilities up and running, we’ll encourage everybody to go to the sea and they can catch fish for 24 hours and easily store and preserve them in those facilities,” Mr Schnaubelt.
“As the government, it’s our job to make sure that those facilities and environment are conducive for the people to earn money so they can sustain their families.”
He added that with the new facilities would enable the DDA to explore the economic potential of fishery resources.
The projects have three phases and will start with the ice-making facility, landing facility and the market shelter.
Provincial Support Fisheries Development Manager for NFA, Bolton Towok, said they had committed K2 million towards the project.
He added that they were ready to implement the first phase of the project as K2 million was already in the budget.
Findings have shown that most of the fish caught are often wasted: fisherman only get 40 percent of earnings while 60 percent is wasted.
As a result, the Namatanai DDA is planning to build these facilities in the district to help the people to make income from the fish caught in sea.