The hustle and bustle that accompanied the 18th edition of the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival quickly melted away on Monday 5 May with the conclusion of the event and tranquillity returning to the harbour town. The increased activity positively impacted various local businesses, including establishments offering accommodation, restaurants, shops and service stations in the harbour town.
Crayfish for all - Under the theme "Safeguarding Our Ocean Riches," the festival which accommodated 80 vendors with 35 of them being seafood vendors who dished up an epic experience packed with delectable food, celebrated Lüderitz’s marine heritage and highlighted the shared responsibility of protecting it for future generations. This year's event also saw the introduction of a seafood vendor subsidy by the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival Trust which ensured that crayfish was sold at just N$35 compared to the usual N$150 price tag for the delicacy.
Most vendors acknowledged that they were well rewarded for the effort they had put in. Seafood vendor, Losie Wilson, said she earned a good income. “ Business was nice and I made some money. Not even the wind could hold me back. I am looking forward to serving visitors and tourists with good food from Lüderitz’s in 2026.” All vendors received Certificates of Participation. Chip&Dip received the People's Choice Award and Seaflower earned the Best Overall Quality Award. Metropolitan, The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia, Namibia Tourism Board and Namforce earned Best Decorated Stall Awards. The Best Innovative Seafood Beveraging Pairing Award went to Natalie Engelbrecht.
Overall - Erastus Angula, the Marketing Coordinator for the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival said the event in spite of a huge lack of accommodation, lived up to expectations and provided a mindblowing experience for residents and visitors from all over the country. “The attendee numbers have increased significantly from 6000 to an estimated 10 000 visitors at this year's festival. This was a good boost for tourism. The fact that we had people from a diverse background including Malaysia, South Africa and even Kenya in attendance, is a clear sign that the event is growing.”
Safe and secure - Angula added that no serious incidents or fatalities were recorded for the duration of the festival. “This is a huge plus point and compliments the good that the festival stands for. We successfully created a safe and secure environment in conjunction with the Special Reserve Force, the local police force, the neighbourhood watch and security companies whose service we secured via a tender that was issued.”
Angula said that all the events associated with the Crayfish Festival were well attended. “The business conference connected people despite its low attendance number. Faizah Bwalya won the Miss Lüderitz Crayfish Festival 2025 title. Mega Slaughterhouse made a surprise appearance had the crowd on their feet. The music bash which featured six local artists, another three others from Namibia and the crowd pulling South African artist, Murumba Pitch, was a resounding success despite the limited funds we had at our disposal to organise the 2025 festival.” A community meeting will be called to provide feedback and a detailed report as soon as possible.
Sports - The event was also complemented by a car spinning session and the introduction of the Lüderitz Namport Nedbank Powerhouse Challenge which consisted of a mountain bike race, a road cycling race, a road running event and the BMX challenge. “The first time we heard about the Challenge in Lüderitz, we decided to get involved and will host a similar event in Walvis Bay later this year. We know that Lüderitz will become the focal point of the Namibian economy. You have to cover a lot of distance to visit the town and I think the cycling and running events in addition to the Crayfish Festival made it a worthy exercise,” said Gernot de Klerk the Head for Marketing and Communications at Nedbank Namibia. He added that bringing competitive cycling to Lüderitz was a worthwhile decision. “It was quite a unique experience which provided participants an opportunity to experience the natural beauty of Namibia as well as places of historic significance on the route. This makes Lüderitz the ideal venue for hosting the National Championships in the future.”
Impressions - Aletta Nampala, a private secretary in the Ministry Agriculture Fishing and Land Reform said that community engagement was very forthcoming. “We have a stall every year and are one of the biggest partners of the Crayfish Festival. We need more government institutions to come onboard and to use the platform to disseminate relevant and required information. Accommodation is limited in Luderitz and something must be done to regulate the rates of the existing accommodation establishments.” She also suggested that the Crayfish Festival organisers should put up a bigger tent to accommodate corporates and state owned enterprises. New Sales and Marketing Manager, Festus Goseb, attended the festival for the first time. “We had quite a lot of visitors to our stall. There are numerous untapped business opportunities, but more importantly, there is a significant lack of understanding, particularly among scholars about what media truly is and the opportunities that exist within this field. This highlights the need for a career and skills fair.”
Crayfish for all - Under the theme "Safeguarding Our Ocean Riches," the festival which accommodated 80 vendors with 35 of them being seafood vendors who dished up an epic experience packed with delectable food, celebrated Lüderitz’s marine heritage and highlighted the shared responsibility of protecting it for future generations. This year's event also saw the introduction of a seafood vendor subsidy by the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival Trust which ensured that crayfish was sold at just N$35 compared to the usual N$150 price tag for the delicacy.
Most vendors acknowledged that they were well rewarded for the effort they had put in. Seafood vendor, Losie Wilson, said she earned a good income. “ Business was nice and I made some money. Not even the wind could hold me back. I am looking forward to serving visitors and tourists with good food from Lüderitz’s in 2026.” All vendors received Certificates of Participation. Chip&Dip received the People's Choice Award and Seaflower earned the Best Overall Quality Award. Metropolitan, The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia, Namibia Tourism Board and Namforce earned Best Decorated Stall Awards. The Best Innovative Seafood Beveraging Pairing Award went to Natalie Engelbrecht.
Overall - Erastus Angula, the Marketing Coordinator for the Lüderitz Crayfish Festival said the event in spite of a huge lack of accommodation, lived up to expectations and provided a mindblowing experience for residents and visitors from all over the country. “The attendee numbers have increased significantly from 6000 to an estimated 10 000 visitors at this year's festival. This was a good boost for tourism. The fact that we had people from a diverse background including Malaysia, South Africa and even Kenya in attendance, is a clear sign that the event is growing.”
Safe and secure - Angula added that no serious incidents or fatalities were recorded for the duration of the festival. “This is a huge plus point and compliments the good that the festival stands for. We successfully created a safe and secure environment in conjunction with the Special Reserve Force, the local police force, the neighbourhood watch and security companies whose service we secured via a tender that was issued.”
Angula said that all the events associated with the Crayfish Festival were well attended. “The business conference connected people despite its low attendance number. Faizah Bwalya won the Miss Lüderitz Crayfish Festival 2025 title. Mega Slaughterhouse made a surprise appearance had the crowd on their feet. The music bash which featured six local artists, another three others from Namibia and the crowd pulling South African artist, Murumba Pitch, was a resounding success despite the limited funds we had at our disposal to organise the 2025 festival.” A community meeting will be called to provide feedback and a detailed report as soon as possible.
Sports - The event was also complemented by a car spinning session and the introduction of the Lüderitz Namport Nedbank Powerhouse Challenge which consisted of a mountain bike race, a road cycling race, a road running event and the BMX challenge. “The first time we heard about the Challenge in Lüderitz, we decided to get involved and will host a similar event in Walvis Bay later this year. We know that Lüderitz will become the focal point of the Namibian economy. You have to cover a lot of distance to visit the town and I think the cycling and running events in addition to the Crayfish Festival made it a worthy exercise,” said Gernot de Klerk the Head for Marketing and Communications at Nedbank Namibia. He added that bringing competitive cycling to Lüderitz was a worthwhile decision. “It was quite a unique experience which provided participants an opportunity to experience the natural beauty of Namibia as well as places of historic significance on the route. This makes Lüderitz the ideal venue for hosting the National Championships in the future.”
Impressions - Aletta Nampala, a private secretary in the Ministry Agriculture Fishing and Land Reform said that community engagement was very forthcoming. “We have a stall every year and are one of the biggest partners of the Crayfish Festival. We need more government institutions to come onboard and to use the platform to disseminate relevant and required information. Accommodation is limited in Luderitz and something must be done to regulate the rates of the existing accommodation establishments.” She also suggested that the Crayfish Festival organisers should put up a bigger tent to accommodate corporates and state owned enterprises. New Sales and Marketing Manager, Festus Goseb, attended the festival for the first time. “We had quite a lot of visitors to our stall. There are numerous untapped business opportunities, but more importantly, there is a significant lack of understanding, particularly among scholars about what media truly is and the opportunities that exist within this field. This highlights the need for a career and skills fair.”
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