Afro Fishing assures of compliance to regulations
‘In the meantime, we first need to undergo the appeal process.’
Afro Fishing (AF) (Pty) Ltd is committed to establishing a fish meal plant at the Mossel Bay harbour.
Dëon van Zyl, CEO at AF, says increased agriculture and aquaculture production are imperative to cope with population growth and food demand. Fish meal and fish oil remain the key ingredients in agri and aqua feeds, Van Zyl says.
"Afro Fishing provides an essential service as we produce canned pilchards for the domestic market. We have been catching and processing pilchards during the lockdown period and have supplied canned pilchards to several relief aid programmes and the National School Nutrition Programme. We have also donated thousands of cans to child welfare organisations, the food havens, and shelters during the lockdown."
Timeline
According to Van Zyl, AF was aiming to commission the new fish meal plant at the start of the 2022 fishing season. "We have, however, lost some time with the delay of the department's environmental authorisation due to the lockdown. We still need to review the project viability concerning the environmental conditions that have been stipulated.
"In the meantime, we first need to undergo the appeal process, which is in the final stage for Interested and Affected Parties to review the authorisation granted." He said it was also required, following this authorisation, to amend permits and provisional licences.
AF will be sticking to the initial plans of both a fish meal plant and the oil reduction facility but will probably install one production line in year one, followed by the second in year two.
Low nuisance
Van Zyl stresses that AF has shown in its application that there is a proven and tested technology available to operate a "low nuisance" fish meal and oil factory.
"There is no disputing that the regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) can achieve the required emission limits, and the authorities have recognised this and the proven science behind the RTO. The inclusion of the RTO is, therefore, a condition.
"AF is committed to the EIA process and will meet all these conditions should the project receive a ‘green’ light from our board.
"It is important also for the community to know that initially, AF will only receive a provisional Atmospheric Emission Licence. This will be valid for six months.
"Thereafter the company will receive another provisional licence for one year. Only after 18 months will a full Atmospheric Emission Licence be issued," Van Zyl said.