SADSTIA REPORT ON FISHING RIGHTS DURATION

The South African Deep Sea Trawl Industry Association ("SADSTIA") has published an incredibly important report that should certainly guide the significant revision of the MLRA, which is now at least a decade over due. 

The SADSTIA report correctly hones on the issue of the duration of fishing rights. Fishing right duration and the increasing collapse in the confidence of any fishing allocation process will increasingly deter any meaningful stabilization of the moribund SA fishing industry - let alone spur any growth or significant investment. 

What we have seen since the 2016 rights allocation process is a significant erosion in the confidence of these processes & the allocation of rights especially since we have repeatedly seen - 

  • (a) consistent findings of unlawfulness by the high court setting aside hundreds of fishing rights; &
  • (b) the minister repeatedly self-reviewing decisions setting aside wholesale allocations 5/6 years into a rights allocation period. 
I have long said, that fishing rights allocation processes are a necessary evil in order to introduce new participants. That has been done & done again. 

And, you cant have a single solution for all fishing sectors. See an article on the subject here supporting the concept of individually transferable fishing rights ("ITF's" or "ITQ's" if referring to "quotas"). 

ITQ's are essentially a system of allocating fishing rights once and then allowing fishing companies to freely trade or hold those rights in perpetuity subject to compliance with specified core rules or principles designed for each fishery. This system could easily apply to highly capital intensive offshore fisheries such as tooth fish, hake trawl, pelagics, south coast rock lobster & even hake long line. 

The SADSTIA report is accessible here. 

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