Mozambican gov't issues first 5-year-long license for tuna capturing

MAPUTO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The government of Mozambique issued its first 5-year-long license for the capturing of tuna in the Mozambican exclusive economic zone.

The license was granted to the British company Lonrho which announced this in a press release on Wednesday, the Maputo based Portuguese News Agency Lusa reported.

The company did not reveal the amount involved in the operation but stated it was authorized to capture 12,000 tonnes of tune a year in the 200 miles of the exclusive economic zone.

"This is the first time that the Government of Mozambique grants fishing rights for a period exceeding one year and coincides with the improvement of cold stores and other amenities of Lonrho in the fishing port of Maputo," the company said in the press release.

In the Mozambican exclusive economic zone, the best species of tuna can be captured during the period of November and May, most of which is commercialized in the Japanese market.

Late in March this year the authorities apprehended a Spanish fishing vessel capturing tuna in the country's exclusive zone. The vessel was found with 1,000 tonnes of tuna evaluated at 2.5 million U.S. dollars. By the time, the non-declaration of its captured products and lack of license to navigate the zone was considered a crime. Enditem

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