Fishing industry in throes of transformation

South Africa's marine resource authorities have just finalised the first of several fishing licences for the next year as they begin to transform the approximately US $30 million-a-year industry which is under threat from overfishing.

The move comes after Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa declared a state of emergency in January on the linefish sector (fish caught with hook and line), saying that about 20 species were under serious threat. Stocks, he said, had been depleted through overfishing and through natural attrition.

The South African government embarked on a massive transformation programme last year aimed at ensuring that marine resources were well managed and conserved, and that all sectors of the population - rich and poor - benefited.

"We are moving to a new dispensation in consultation with the industry on how to establish a better regime and on how to allocate such (fishing) rights," Horst Kleinschmidt, deputy director-general of marine and coastal management, told IRIN on Thursday.

Before 1994, he said, authorities received only about 500 licence applications a year, compared to the approximately 12,000 applications it receives now. "This is because we are trying to deracialise the whole thing. Previously applicants were white and now the industry is open to everyone, and previously disadvantaged individuals and communities are applying for licences," he said.

The government aimed to conclude its discussions with all stakeholders in the industry by the end of this year and was working towards a system where different species of fish would be allocated to different sectors (commercial, subsistence and small commercial) and quotas would be set for each, Kleinscmidt said.

At the heart of the government's initiative, which has drawn some emotional responses from the industry, is an attempt to ensure that the poor, particularly those whose lives and livelihoods depend on fishing, have access to South Africa's marine resources.

"For the first time this year we are creating a regulatory framework for subsistence fishers. In the past they were at worst Kleinschmidt, or forced to sell their catches to big companies to augment their incomes. We want to create a situation where the fishers can sell to the highest bidder," Kleinschmidt said. He said that in the past subsistence fishers were forced to constantly increase the number of fish they caught to increase their incomes. However, he was hoping that the new dispensation would compel big companies and restaurants to pay them higher prices. This, said Kleinschmidt, would conserve resources and increase subsistence fishers' revenues.

"At the moment the subsistence issue is a big problem. We inherited it. There are those who are trying to eke out a living on the coast. So we are saddled with almost a welfare problem. So firstly, (when it comes to to the subsistence sector) our policy is to support people who are depending on this for their livelihood," he said.

He said that in the commercial fishing sector, which would include big and medium-to-small businesses, the government hoped to ensure transformation by providing certain incentives - like bigger fishing quotas for companies which showed commitment to transformation through their staff complements and ownership.

In the meantime, said Kleinschmidt, all stakeholders were involved in talks on how best to regulate and transform and industry in such a way that everyone wins.