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 I have worked through the entire government gazette issued on 20 September 2021 containing 9 draft sector policies and the draft transfer of rights fishing policy.  Should you require detailed advice and analysis on specific policies, you are welcome to contact me. It is simply not possible to draft a blog article setting out that level of analysis and detail.  The overwhelming conclusion having read these draft policies is that they are the product of incorrigible poor intellect and knowledge of our fisheries sectors, economies and communities. None of these policies will withstand any half-decent judicial review. Like the Draft General Policy 2021, these draft policies are crap. The construction of entire paragraphs is nonsensical and an awful abuse of the English language.  Bad policy that will destroy value chains, jobs, investments and entire fisheries economies are prevalent.  How can you create policy that will exclude an entire vessel fleet in an entire...

On the 13 September 2021, the Minister of Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, published the 2021 General Policy on the Allocation of Commercial Fishing Rights ("the General Policy"). There is a 30-day notice and comment period - effectively members of the fishing industry and other interested parties have until 14 October 2021 to comment.  So how good or bad or acceptable is this draft policy? This is a brief analysis of the draft 2021 General Policy.  Is this the 2019 DRAFT General Policy with a newish title and cover page?  In February 2019, Minister Zokwana published a draft General Policy for comment. The 2021 General Policy is an identical copy of that 2019 draft! It took Minister Creecy nearly 3 years to publish a 2019 draft Policy. This is an incredible case of failure and prejudice to members of the fishing industry.  To compound the failure, none of the industry submitted comments have been considered or included in the current 2021 draft General Policy.  Minist...

On 20 September 2021, the Deputy Director-General of the Fisheries Management Branch met with the EXCO of FISHSA and confirmed a vague revised timetable and commitment that fishing rights would be allocated by 31 December 2021.  From the FISHSA Minutes of that meeting it would appear that the DDG was intentionally vague and ambiguous and certainly unconvincing that a lawful and legitimate rights allocation is attainable.  So for the umpteenth time, the question that kept being put to me via WhatsApp, email and telephone calls was "CAN FISHING RIGHTS BE ALLOCATED BY 31 DECEMBER 2021?". My clear and unambiguous answer has been and remains, NO. NO. NO. NOT POSSIBLE.  We have already set out on TWITTER (@feikemanagement) why this "new" timetable is not only impractical but also unlawful but lets be unambiguously clear about why fishing rights CAN NOT BE ALLOCATED before 31 December. 1. SEIAS are irrational, unlawful and do not contain any social and economic analytical ...

On Friday 14 May 2021, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (or whatever it calls itself these days) published three sets of draft Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Surveys (SEIAS) in the demersal shark, hake long line and hake deep sea trawl fishery sectors. On Monday 17 May 2021, a fourth & fifth draft SEIAS for the small pelagic and tuna pole fisheries were published. It is uncertain as to whether any other SEIAS were published as the department has not published any of these documents on its website, in the government gazette or in any newspapers as required by law.  Comments on each of these five drafts are due at 16h00 on 27 May 2021. It must be noted that as at 15:00 on 17 May 2021, there is no mention of these documents and the comment period on www.environment.gov.za, the Minister's twitter account or the department's official twitter page.    There is no possible justification or rational reason for such an abbreviated notice and co...

 On 15 March 2021, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries published two sets of FRAP-related tenders. One was for the appointment of an IT firm that has to provide an IT solution for the FRAP and the second concerned the appointment of a FRAP "Implementer" that would be responsible for essentially everything from consultations, the conducting of the 12 SEIAS, development of policies and administering the entire FRAP.  Regardless of the suitability of the TOR's, the question that we have been asked to answer is, can this "start" of the process result in an allocation by year-end. The short answer is a definitive NO ! Here is why. Firstly, we have had this stillborn issuing of tenders already - back in November 2020. Five months later, we are back to square 1. But let us pretend to be awfully gullible and pretend that come the end of April 2021, the Department appoints two service providers as envisaged and these teams get cracking immediately. ( It...

In November 2020, the Minister of Fisheries published her second revised FRAP timetable having completely missed her own deadlines for the preparation of socio-economic studies and reports and the publication of draft policies by October 2020.  We stated on the record that the revised timetable is impractical and unattainable .  Neither of the first two milestones set by the Minister have been achieved. This includes the appointment of service providers.  To date, no right holder or industry association have been communicated with or consulted in any manner whatsoever regarding socio-economic data, policy criteria, frameworks, possible processes and systems that would apply to any FRAP etc.  When will this government just admit that it does not have the resources and capacity to implement a fishing rights allocation process? We see the same incompetence and destruction (albeit with much more serious consequences) in the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and now wi...

We have a received a number of queries from quota holders (both companies and individual fishers) enquiring as to whether they require a permit to fish.  Quota holders whose rights expired at midnight on 31 December 2020 have been exempted from the provisions of section 18 of the Marine Living Resources Act until midnight on 31 December 2021. This means that these quota holders can continue fishing DESPITE not having a valid commercial fishing right issued in terms of section 18 of the MLRA.  Abalone quota holders have been operating without section 18 "rights" since 2013. "Interim relief" quota holders have been doing so since 2007/2008!  Accordingly, this exemption covers not having a right. And every quota holder whose right expired on 31 December 2020 can continue fishing as if their rights were issued in 2005 and 2013 as being valid until 31 December 2021.  What about the actual annual fishing permit issued every year in terms of section 13 of the MLRA? On 25 N...