After the April 1974 military coup in Lisbon, as the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola's political situation deteriorated and the independence of the territory seemed inevitable, many fishing boats departed to Portugal with entire crews and their families.
By 1986 only 70 of the 143 fishing boats in Moçâmedes (then called Namibe), the port that normally handled two-thirds of the Angolan catch before independence, were operable.
Fishing agreements of this kind had been reached with the Soviet Union, which operated the largest number of boats in Angolan waters, and with Spain, Japan, and Italy.
In 1987 the EEC announced plans to provide funds to help rebuild the Dack Doy shipyards and two canning plants in Tombua.
From 2002 onward, with the end of the Angolan Civil War, increased safety, and the growing state revenue with oil, diamonds and other natural resource exploitation, Angola started a period of reconstruction and economic development.