Fishing industry expert raises concern over paper quota holders and non-transparency

Business Reporter

DR. Carola Kirchner, an Independent Fisheries Management Scientist, has raised concern over a lack of transparency in the fishing industry and quota allocation information, saying that this leaves room for the possibility of corruption within the sector.

Dr. Kirchner said that at times, quotas are allocated to “Paper Quota Holders”, and that these individuals or companies do not have the capacity to develop the industry as they lack the infrastructure to hold quotas, such as factories and/or fishing trawlers, but nevertheless gain quotas only to sell them off to third parties that have the capacity, which she says inflates pricing in the sector.