Cape Town - The proposed splitting of allowable catches of linefish, squid and abalone between local commercial and small-scale fishers, in terms of an amendment bill proposed by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, would be “unfair and unlawful”, according to two groups representing fishers and farmers.
The recently-released bill proposes a 50/50 split of the allowable abalone catch, a 50/50 split of the allowable linefish catch and a 75/25 split of the allowable squid catch between the local commercial fishing sector and small-scale sector respectively.
Commenting on the bill, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy said: “The proposed split will positively impact on the lives of small-scale fishers, improve food security and advance vulnerable groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities.
“The small-scale fishing communities will also be enabled to participate in the whole value chain and to benefit substantially from their equitable apportionments and allocations.”
However, the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) and the SA United Fishing Front (SAUFF) have jointly, through their legal representative Daniël Eloff, an attorney at Hurter Spies Inc, said in a letter to Creecy: “Having analysed the proposed resources, SAAI and the SAUFF submit that the proposed resource split is inconsistent with the object and purpose of the Marine Living Resources Act insofar as it fails to accommodate and address the historical imbalances of small-scale fishers, and fails to comply with applicable rules of international law in that it does not address the internationally recognised interests and position of small-scale fishers.”
Asked why SAUFF had linked up with SAAI, an agricultural network for farmers, for a campaign against the bill, SAUFF spokesperson Pedro Garcia said: “The one commonality we have is we both deal with small-scale producers, whether in the agricultural sector or the marine sector, and everybody seems to be facing the same challenges.
“There is also the aquaculture sector.
"We are still not sure whether this (proposal) will remain with fisheries or agriculture as it straddles both."
Cape Argus