According to the Angola Fisheries Statistical Yearbook 2022-2023, recently reviewed, imports have prominently featured canned goods, dried codfish, croaker, and various other fish products.
Dried cod accounted for 30.5% of all imported products, totaling 3,108 tons.
Among the top six countries of origin, Portugal recorded imports of 2,528 tons in 2022 and 2,245 tons in 2023, followed by significant contributions from Norway, Thailand, and China during the same period.
The Angolan Ministry of Fisheries report indicates that the country collected 46.7 billion kwanzas (42.9 billion euros) from a total of 57,270 tons, with diverse fish being prominent.
“The export volume for crustaceans, mollusks, and various fish increased by 1.3%, 14.7%, and 21.2% respectively,” the document states.
In 2022, exports varied among crustaceans (3,972), mollusks (1,320), and various fish (20,991), with increased volumes in 2023 for crustaceans (4,024), mollusks (1,513), and various fish (30,987).
Main destinations for crustaceans included Spain (81.4%), Japan (8.6%), China (6.3%), and the United States of America (3.7%). For mollusks, with squid as the most exported species, the key destinations were Portugal (66.2%), Malaysia (24.4%), and China (9.4%).
Regarding the export of various fish, totaling 46,441 tons, the primary destinations were Ivory Coast with 56.1%, Ghana with 26.5%, China with 7.2%, Malaysia with 3.3%, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 1.3%.
The yearbook highlights research cruises carried out by the National Institute of Fisheries and Marine Research (INIPM) during 2022 and 2023 to estimate biomass for pelagic species, demersals, and deep-sea shrimp, totaling an aggregated 817.58 million tons.
During the analysis period, resource availability was highest for pelagic species (horse mackerel and sardinellas), estimated at 678,865 thousand tons, representing 83.0% of the estimated total biomass.
Pelagic fish like sardines and tuna live in open seas forming large schools, while demersals like hake and flounder inhabit the ocean floor.
Between 2022 and 2023, 502 fishing licenses were issued, predominantly for Purse Seining, accounting for 49.6% of the total. The second most common was Demersal Trawling, representing 21.5% of issued licenses, mainly in Luanda and Benguela.
