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Having bungled the entire 2013 Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP), the Department has now confirmed the bungling of the 2014 abalone fishing rights allocation process. The Fisheries Minister has today (31 July) announced that abalone fishers will be exempted from holding section 18 abalone fishing rights until 30 July 2015 because the department failed to timeously allocate abalone fishing rights when these expired yesterday (30 July 2014).  Fisheries management in this country has completely imploded. We now simply move from one crisis to the next; chaos is the defining tone; we simply no longer expect responsible and successful fisheries management. We have ruined our history of managing fisheries by means of lawful and legitimate long term fishing quotas and instead regressed to a previous century defined by chaos, illegality, management by "exemptions" and corruption. Is this "transformation"? Regression? How does chaos, illegality and unpredictab...

The President launched "Operation Phakisa" on 19 July 2014 in Durban. Operation Phakisa seeks to "unlock the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans". According to the President, the ocean contributed approximately 54 billion rand to South Africa’s gross domestic product and accounted for approximately 316 thousand jobs in 2010. An analysis was conducted of nine sectors that comprise South Africa’s ocean economy. The ocean has the potential to contribute an additional R177 billion to the SA GDP. In addition, government is of the view that the ocean has the potential to sustain between eight hundred and one million direct jobs. These growth levers reflect at least 4 percent annual growth in both Gross Domestic Product contribution and job creation. Four priority sectors have been selected as new growth areas in the ocean economy, with the objective of growing them and deriving value for the country. These are: (a) Marine transport and manufacturing ac...

The DA's Zelda Jongbloed provided a detailed reply to the Fisheries Minister's budget vote. Ms Jongbloed focussed entirely on the calamitous state of the fisheries department and the crises affecting the various fishing sectors, the rights allocation processes (past and upcoming) and the ongoing problems concerning our fisheries patrol and research vessels.  Given the focus of Ms Jongbloed's response on fisheries, we have elected to provide the complete speech below. "Honourable chair, two recent developments proved damning for the South African fishing industry: The first was the report by the Public Protector into allegations of a dodgy tender to Sekunjalo Marine Services Consortium by DAFF. The second was the abandonment of the flawed FRAP2013-fishing rights process. The Docked Vessels Report still has to be formally tabled and considered by this Committee. But the Public Protector has been ignored yet again. Not a single official (let alone the previou...

On Wednesday 16 July 2014, Minister Zokwana delivered his first budget vote for the agriculture, forestry and fisheries department (DAFF). Given the catastrophic state we find are our fisheries department and sectors in, the expectation was that the Minister would provide clear direction on the remedial measures he would be implementing. He has, after-all, been the Minister for more than 2 months now and ought to be well-versed in fisheries and rot he inherited from Joemat-Pettersson. To say the Minister's address pertaining to fisheries (all 236 words) was disappointing is perhaps being extremely diplomatic. The Minister had essentially nothing to say about fisheries! He did not address the most pertinent and pressing issues affecting fisheries management, including the following-  the rampant corruption that has become institutionalised at the fisheries department. Despite the damning allegations of maladministration and corruption against Desmond Stevens and Dennis Frede...

Why is it that senior civil servants are so unable at planning and leading their staff and government departments? Do they enjoy failure and the public ridicule? Do they care? How is it that they so fundamentally fail to understand what the law requires of them? Is it gross incompetence? Is it intentional, as they certainly never suffer any consequence (except for a bit of "re-deployment" perhaps even to a better paying cushy job? One cant help but ask these rhetorical questions given the largest fishing rights allocation failure - FRAP 2013 - in South African fisheries management history where not a single person has been held accountable, fired or forced to apologise to the SA fishing industry and public. And the FRAP 2013 disaster is immediately being followed up by the same planning and governance failures in the abalone fishery (rights expire in 15 days' time with the department having done nothing in planning and preparation), the large pelagics fishery  (righ...

On Tuesday 24 June 2014, the Global Oceans Commission released its report and findings on the governance and recovery of earth's High Seas - those waters not under the national jurisdiction of any single state. And these waters comprise some 64% of the world's oceans that are presently either unregulated or regulated via a patchwork of regional fisheries organisations established under the the auspices of the United Nation's Convention of the Law of the Seas.  The Global Ocean Commission comprises 18 prominent former politicians and heads of major international organizations, including South Africa's former finance minister, Trevor Manuel, who served as one of three co-chairs of the Commission. It is worth noting that neither the SA fisheries department nor the SA environmental affairs department have to date said a word about the historic publication of the Report.   The Commission Report proposes a 5 year integrated ocean rescue package under the banner ...

At its first sitting this week, the newly constituted Fisheries Portfolio Committee was warned by its own Parliamentary research office that hot on the heels of the failed 2013 rights allocation process, the fisheries department was continuing headlong into fresh rights allocation process pandemonium.  There are now essentially 3 weeks left before more than 300 abalone right holders will see their rights flushed down the proverbial DAFF toilet, together with more than 14 years of investments in boats, jobs, markets and fishing gear. And why? Because the department refuses to acknowledge it failed ( AGAIN)  to properly plan for and develop a fishing rights allocation process for this sector.  Certain right holders have however approached the Public Protector's Office. The Public Protector will be commencing with public hearings into the department's failure to properly plan for this latest fishing rights allocation process.  In addition, I have assisted a...