Shem Oirere is a Kenyan journalist who previously worked for daily newspapers as a general news correspondent, business reporter and sub-editor before turning to full-time freelancing. For the more than 20 years, he has covered various sectors of Africa’s economy including agriculture, food processing, and maritime industries. A graduate of the University of South Africa, he has traveled within and outside Africa covering various industry events that have a bearing on the continent’s economy on behalf of different international consumer and trade publications. He currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
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Aquaculture investment fund Aqua-Spark has announced plans to invest in catfish-producing companies in sub-Saharan-African markets as part of its strategy to support the growth of the region’s aquaculture industry.
In a statement Aqua-Spark said it is seeking to invest in large-scale producers that could become platforms for growth for the broader aquaculture industry through local outgrower programs.
“Both in Nigeria as well as in
… Read MoreSouth African seafood company Oceana Group has announced a delay in the publication of its latest financial results for the year ended 30 September 2021 and issue of financial statement to shareholders. The delay means Financial Results will not be published at the end of November 2021 as is customary, the company said in a statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which requires financial results be published within three months and audited
… Read MoreA new investigation has exposed how China is defying international law to carry out illegal fishing operations in Somali water, while subjecting foreign crew to mistreatment.
A new Environmental Justice Foundation report claims six Chinese fishing vessels entered Somali waters without permission and used prohibited fishing gear, such as trawl nets, in fishing zones that have been reserved for Somali fishing
… Read MoreUncertainty has gripped the coastal fishing communities in Kenya after a ruling by the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) and largely agreed with Somalia’s claim of ownership of a huge chunk of offshore area that served as a key fishing ground for the past 35 years.
The 100,000-square-kilometer offshore area has been the center maritime territorial dispute between the two neighboring countries since
… Read MoreSouth Africa Minister of Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy has agreed to review the 2021/2022 total allowable catch for the country's West Coast rock lobster (WCRL) fishery after coming under pressure from small-scale fishers and other fishing communities.
Creecy has asked the newly appointed Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF) to carry out the TAC review, which comes shortly after the 15 October, 2021, announcement of a
… Read MoreNamibia's High Court has delayed a pretrial hearing of 10 people accused of involvement in the Fishrot scandal to January 2022.
The Fishrot scandal centers around allegedly corrupt dealings between Namibian firm Fishcor and Icelandic seafood company Samherji involving more than USD 650 million (EUR 536 million). High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg said the accused, who include former fisheries minister Bernhard Esau and
… Read MoreGlobal investment bank and financial services firm Credit Suisse will pay penalties of over USD 500 million (EUR 429 million) in what anti-corruption experts are calling “the most egregious corruption offense of the decade.”
Credit Suisse admitted to conspiring to commit fraud in a Mozambique tuna-fishing project and, in a coordinated global resolution with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.K. Financial Conduct
… Read MoreTwo tuna-conservation organizations have accused 32 countries of hindering the fight against illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing (IUU).
The Global Tuna Alliance (GTA) and Tuna Protection Alliance (TUPA) have, in two joint letters, said the failure by 32 governments to ratify the 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA) is complicating efforts to battle illegal fishing. At least 18 nations have yet to sign the agreement, and
… Read MoreGovernments in West Africa should halt the manufacturing of aquafeed and animal feed that uses fish fit for human consumption, according to environmental activist nonprofit Greenpeace.
On Thursday, 7 October, the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior intercepted the Key Sund, a tanker transporting fish oil from West Africa, via the English Channel. In a statement, Greenpeace said the action was taken to bring attention to the alarming rate of growth
… Read MoreThe Namibian High Court approved an application by the country’s prosecution to consolidate two fishery bribery cases involving two former ministers and several other co-accused, in what has been described as Namibia’s biggest corruption scandal.
Justice Christie Liebenberg said the charges against former Namibia Fisheries Minister Bernardt Esau and former Namibia Minister of Justice Sakeus Shanghala and their co-accused should
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