Omankete casts line into salmon farming

Omankete Investments has taken a N$40 million stake in the African Aquaculture Company, becoming the first Namibian private investor in an offshore Atlantic salmon farming venture its developers describe as a new industry for southern Africa.

Omankete, which has a 25-year track record in Namibia's fishing industry, acquired the stake in AAC, which is developing an Atlantic salmon farming operation in the cold Benguela Current waters off Lüderitz.

Managing director Oscar Shigwana said the investment reflected his company's confidence in the economic potential of salmon farming and its role in building indigenous fiscal capacity.

"Investment in salmon farming will fast-track the sector and advance national economic growth," he said.

AAC country director Clement Kaukuetu welcomed the development, saying it demonstrated that Namibian institutions had the capacity for serious capital investment projects.

"We are happy Namibians and Namibian institutions are taking ownership and truly Namibianising salmon farming in cooperation with Norwegian investors," he said.

The company holds three licences covering a combined capacity of 51,000 tonnes of head-on gutted salmon, acquired in 2024. At full production capacity of 50,000 tonnes, AAC says the operation would yield around 650,000 salmon meals daily.

Smolt, juvenile fish used to stock the sea cages, will be produced at the Fizantakraal facility north of Cape Town in South Africa, before being transferred to grow-out sites outside Lüderitz port. The company says Lüderitz's proximity to regional markets means salmon can reach destinations across southern Africa by road within 24 hours, reducing reliance on airfreight.

In a separate development, AAC announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Namibia University of Science and Technology. The MoU covers curriculum development, staff and student exchange programmes, research and innovation, and faculty and student development.

Kaukuetu said the partnership was intended to ensure that the sector trained and employed Namibian workers from the outset.

"With this approach, we will be able to ensure that salmon farming harnesses, trains, develops and employs indigenous labour," he said, adding that Namibia stood to gain first-hand experience as continental pioneers of industrial salmon farming.