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The recent unlawful and irregular allocation of boat-based whale watching and white shark cage diving permits has demonstrated a narrow-mindedness to destroy South Africa's two most successful eco-tourism sectors second to none.  Feike has served as the legal advisor to the South African Boat-Based Whale Watching Association (SABBWWA) and the Great White Shark Protection Foundation that represents the majority of shark diving operations in the country of some time and a number of historical operators summarily lost their operating permits to new entrant applicants who have no resources, client access, vessels, websites, or ability to operate a whale watching or shark cage diving operation.  Of course, the need to allow new entrants and even additional permit holders is a legitimate way of growing the economy particularly in these non-consumptive sectors whose success is determined by the number of foreign and domestic tourists willing to come aboard an operator's vess...

Over the past few months we have seen two large transactions concluded involving the procurement of wild fish quotas worth more than R230 million.  The first one to be approved this year by the Competition Tribunal and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries involved the effective buy-out of Talhado Fishing Enterprises by Premier Fishing in the squid sector. The Talhado transaction was particularly well-timed given the recent recovery of squid stocks and vastly improved fishing conditions (including prices) and the current depressed South African currency. Premier's purchase of Talhado's squid interests gives it effective control over some 20% of the total fishing effort available in the SA squid industry and just under 25% of the South African squid export market share.  The purchase of Viking Fishing's entire portfolio of fishing quotas by the Sea Harvest Consortium Group is a substantially more complex and important transaction for South African fi...