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The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has determined the 2016/2017 WCRL fishery TAC, which includes catch and effort limitations for the commercial trap boat fishery, the small-scale hoop net sectors and the recreational fishery. The global TAC determination has been set at 1924.08 tons, which is the same as the 2015/2016 season. The 2016/2017 apportionment of TAC has been undertake in slightly different manner than previously with a separate allocation apportioned for small-scale lobster fishers in the Northern Cape. The apportionment of TAC is as follows: Commercial Trap Boat sector: 1204.48 tons (previously 1243.48 tons);  Small-scale hoop net sector: 376.10 tons (previously 376.10 tons); Small-scale (Interim Relief Measure) sector: 235.30 tons (previously 235.30 tons); Small-scale Northern Cape sector: 39 tons; Recreational Fishing : 69.20 tons (previously 69.20 tons). In addition to the setting of catch limits, the fishery will also be subjected ...

On Friday 11 November 2016, South Africa's Fisheries Management Branch issued a suite of provisional decisions in the high value capital intensive Horse Mackerel, Patagonian Toothfish, Large Pelagic and Hake Inshore Trawl fishery sectors. The provisional decisions are for the allocation of 15yr long fishing rights, which are set to expire in 2031.  Why Provisional Decisions? The intention behind issuing provisional decisions is to provide interested and affected parties an initial comment period on the provisional lists of successful and unsuccessful applicants. Importantly, it allows the decision-maker an opportunity to address any material oversights during the evaluation process and misrepresentations by applicants.  What are the "General Published Reasons"?  The General Published Reasons (GPR) document dates back to the first medium term fishing rights allocation process in 2001/2002. The GPR is a detailed record of the process underpinning the decis...

On 14 September 2016, Feike provided a presentation to the Southern Africa CITES Shark & Ray Conservation Symposium on the economic importance of white shark shark eco-tourism as opposed to consumption-based shark harvesting fisheries.  The data that follows is an adaptation of my presentation to the CITES Symposium.  The South African shark cage diving sector was started in the 1990's by a group of entrepreneurs who identified the opportunities of taking tourists out to sea to experience white sharks in their natural environments. South Africa's white shark eco-tourism sector attained international attention shortly after the Discovery Channel produced "Air Jaws" which documented the "flying" great white sharks of the False Bay. This documentary featured Chris and Monique Fallows of Apex Predators, which is a leading white shark cage diving tour operation based in Simonstown, Cape Town.  Feike is the legal adviser to the South African Gre...

There is no doubt that the current litigation brought by the South African Deep Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA) and former right holders in the horse mackerel fishery (excluding the largest current operator, Blue Continent Products (Pty) Ltd) against, inter alia , the Minister of Fisheries and Global Pact Trading 193 (Pty) Ltd (the recipient of the experimental permit) is newsworthy and of legal interest. For one, the litigation will determine the scope and extent of Ministerial power under Section 83 of the Marine Living Resources Act, which gives the Minister a wide discretion to permit any scientific or practical experiment.  It is no secret that I was recently re-appointed by the Minister to advise him defend the case brought by SADSTIA and various members of the horse mackerel industry (the Applicants). The Minister had sought my services - as I understand - because of my previous successful advisory role as Chairperson of the 2013 Fishing Rights Allocation Pr...

Are our famous West Coast rock lobster stocks on the verge of complete collapse? The sense by fishermen who attended a briefing by the Fisheries Department on 16 September 2016 seems to confirm an appreciable sense of panic by researchers and fisheries managers.  The headline numbers for the fishery appear desperate. The TAC will be cut by no less than 30% this coming season to a global TAC of 1270 tons! The proposal is to further cut the TAC in 2017/2018 to 790 tons - that is a further 37% cut, equating to a 70% cut in catch allowances and income in 24 months! The economic hardship that this will cause in West and Southern Cape Coasts villages and towns will be massive.  The TAC for areas 3&4 (Doring Bay, Lamberts Bay and Elands Bay) has been reduced by 42%. The TAC for areas 5%6 (St Helena Bay, Paternoster and Saldanha) has been reduced a whopping 65%. To make financial matters even worse for quota holders is that the allotted fishing months has been severely cu...

South Africa's boat based whale watching and shark cage diving sectors are each represented by industry bodies formally recognised and authorised to represent members under the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998, which is the law governing whale watching and shark cage diving. The whale watching industry is represented by the SA Boat-Based Whale Watching Industry and the shark cage diving sector by the Great White Shark Protection Foundation. Feike is an advisor to both bodies. The department responsible for these two sectors is the Department of Environmental Affairs. In early 2015, Industry representatives met with officials from DEA to remind them that permits in both sectors were set to expire at the end of June 2016 for the whale watching sector and at the end of August for the white shark diving sector. Industry offered to assist where possible with preparations for the permit re-allocation and renewal process. Both the whale watching and shark cage diving sectors undertook ...

My next Maritime Review Africa article will provide a summation of the FRAP 2013 appeals process, including an analysis of the line fish appeals process that led to the publication of the Minister's final traditional line fish decisions in May 2016 . The FRAP 2013 appeals process took 10 months to conclude, highlighting that such administrative processes, if undertaken legally and diligently, take substantial planning and time. To rush these processes only causes significant harm to both the fishing industry and communities, on the one hand, and to the overseeing regulator - DAFF. My article addresses the key mechanisms and processes that were implemented when evaluating and deciding the 567 traditional line fish appeals in particular. The article also addresses where the decisions leave the small-scale community-based fishing sector process and how the additional anticipated effort from these communities could conceivably be accommodated without decimating staple line fish s...

The Daily Dispatch reports that China has officially stated that its arrested fishing vessels were fishing legally and had the necessary permits and China was seeking "p rompt and appropriate settlement” of the investigation “in line with the friendship and cooperation between our countries”. While it is clear that the arrested fishing vessels,  the MFV Fu Yuan Yu 7880, MFV Fu Yang Yu 7881 & MFV Run Da 617, are authorised by the South Pacific Regional Fishery Management Organisation to harvest fish in the South Pacific Convention Area only.  These vessels are authorised to use pole and line gear when fishing in the Convention Area waters. This High Seas fishing license certainly does not authorise these vessels to enter South African waters and more importantly does not permit these vessels to fish in SA waters. As none of the arrested vessels had section 39 licenses issued by the Fisheries Department under the Marine Living Resources Act to enter our EEZ, the vesse...

What if our famed West Coast Rock lobster is downgraded to SASSI's Red List? Or should the question instead read "When..."? Will that save lobster stocks from complete decimation? What will the socio-economic consequences be? Of course, strictly speaking that is not SASSI's mandate or direct concern. SASSI's colour coding of fish stocks is determined by the biological and ecological health of the fishery concerned. However, given that our lobster stocks have been sitting at between 3% and 2% of pristine for some time now, that SASSI had not red listed lobster a few years ago, confirms that the organisation is indeed mindful of the socio-economic impacts of red-listing such a crucial small-commercial fishery.  Indeed, if abalone has been on the red list for years now, why has lobster similarly not been classified as red?  The reality is that while placing lobster on the red list may have little to no consequences for the export-driven offshore commerci...

So what do we know to date about the "Chinese" named but apparently flag-less vessels spotted in SA  waters?  According to the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Zokwana, the fleet of brand new fishing vessels were sailing to the Congo from China. Apparently, they were new-build vessels for an unnamed Angolan fishing company.  It would appear that after they were intercepted by the EPV Lilian Ngoyi in South African waters near the Bird Island Group MPA, the fleet received instructions from the owners to split up and ignore all instructions from South African authorities proceed to port.  The result is that an estimated 8 vessels have escaped while 1 vessel has been arrested and is presently in Table Bay Harbour.  What is apparent is that these fishing vessels entered the SA EEZ without having first been given permission to do so under the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998. That would amount to a violation of section 39 of the MLRA. A violation of section...

On 8 March 2016, the Fisheries Minister announced his provisional set of appeal decisions in the traditional line fishery. Of the 564 appeals considered, the Minister decided to provisionally  grant line fish rights to -  169 appellants in Zone A; 22 appellants in Zone B; and 15 appellants in Zone C.  The provisional decisions were issued for public comment and scrutiny until 28 March 2016. The Minister appointed the forensic audit firm, Sizwe Ntsaluba & Gobodo Inc ("SNG"), to oversee the provisional list and comment process. During the "provisional list" process, the Minister received 127 comments and complaints in total.   The appeals advisory team has been briefed on all investigations undertaken and completed by SNG. The appeals advisory team will be spending the remaining time this week finalising the recommendations to be presented to the Minister, whereafter the Minister will consider the appeals and issue his final set of decisions on the ...

Any lobster fisherman knows that a live lobster is better than a dead or dying lobster. The difference is literally worth a small fortune and means a great deal for small-scale lobster fishers particularly who have much smaller quotas than the larger commercial operators. Having observed the way lobsters are fished, handled, transported and packed over the years, it is little wonder why lobster mortality rates in the small-scale and interim relief sectors are so high. High mortalities not only affect the incomes generated by these fishers, but also - I would argue - support the rampant growth in the illegal fishing of lobsters so as to make up for income losses. Why has the conversation in the lobster fishery not shifted from arguments about more and more quotas to how do we maximise incomes and profits from the sale of lobsters based on current quota sizes?  Why have fishers organisations, including the West Coast Rock Lobster Industry Association, Coastal Links and SAUFF, not...

The catastrophe that was the 2013 Fishing Rights Allocation Process involving 8 commercial and small-scale commercial fisheries and 979 right holders is finally on the cusp of being remedied ... at least as best as one can repair a fishing rights allocation process as flawed, irrational and damaging to our fishing communities as the 2013 process has been.  I, together with Mamakhe Mdhuli (an attorney from Johannesburg) and Professor Julian Smith (former Vice Rector at Stellenbosch), commenced the FRAP 2013 remedial process some 10 months ago on the instruction of Minister Senzeni Zokwana and with the support the current DDG of Fisheries, Ms Siphokazi Ndudane. I was initially approached by the Minister and Ms Ndudane more than 12 months ago to determine whether I would consider assisting the Minister repair the damage caused by the ill-advised FRAP 2013 process.  The extent of the remedial process has been limited to what we - as an appeals advisory team - could lawful...