~

Recent public statements by officials in the Department of Environmental Affairs seem to indicate that for some peculiar reason they continue to think that Environmental Affairs is responsible for the management of the boat based whale watching (BBWW) and white shark cage diving (WSCD) sectors. Their legal advisers must be on leave. On 1 April 2010 all functions and authority pertaining to the administration of the Marine Living Resources Act (save for section 43) were transferred to the Minister of Fisheries. Section 43 deals with the management of marine protected areas which remain under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Affairs. Environmental Affairs remains responsible for the administration of the Integrated Coastal Management Act. The authority to regulate and issue permits in the BBWW and WSCD sectors remains unambiguously with the Minister of Fisheries and Marine and Coastal Management simply because the authority to regulate these non-consumptive sectors is ...

The Minister of Fisheries stated in November 2009 that the abalone fishery would be "re-opened" to commercial fishing in February 2010. This did not happen. And as the Cape Times reported on 27 April 2010, many abalone divers are becoming angry and impatient with the "broken promises". Many once law abiding right holders have resorted to poaching themselves as they face the prospects of property repossessions and hungry families. It is now the end of April 2010 and Winter in the Cape is about to arrive which will essentially prevent much diving - or at least safe diving. So what is needed at the very minimum to get commercial divers back into the water? 1. Scientific confirmation that a TAC can be sustainably allocated in terms of section 14 of the MLRA. In this regard, we are aware that independent scientific and departmental advice hold the view that approximately 150-200 tons of abalone can be harvested cumulatively from Zones A, B, D, E, F and G. Zones C and D ...

The Minister of Fisheries who took over as the political executive in charge of South Africa's fisheries administration on 1 April 2010, confirmed that the proposed fish levies published by her colleague Buyelwa Sonjica earlier this year were both "bizarre" and "ridiculous". She confirmed that the income from fish levies cannot alone be used to combat fishing. The Minister confirmed that MCM relies heavily on income from the sale of confiscated product and that this income could be utilised to combat poaching. The fishing industry, artisinal fishers and the recreational sector must be thankful for this moment of sanity. The Minister's frank and critical analysis of the draft levy proposals must be considered against the background that MCM's financial woes continue into the current financial year. Managing this financial crisis - the umpteenth one for MCM since 2005 - will be particularly challenging for the new Minister as she has committed her Departme...

Feike has been approached by representatives of two African states that have a limited number of tuna long line and purse seine quotas available for either 6 month periods or annual periods (renewable). The quotas are available from June 2010. For more information contact smoolla@feike.co.za

Ministers and representatives of the ten African countries sharing the Western Indian Ocean have signed a strategic new agreement to protect their marine environments. They have devised a 25-year programme of action aimed at ensuring efficient management of the marine and coastal environment in the larger Eastern and Southern African region. The programme was launched during the Conference of Plenipotentiaries and the Sixth Conference of Parties (COP–6) to the Nairobi Convention which was held at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters at Gigiri in Nairobi, Kenya, from 29 March to 1 April 2010. The two instruments are; 1) The new Protocol for the Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment of the Western Indian Ocean from Land-based Sources and Activities . The formulation of the Protocol is a result of wide recognition by the governments in Eastern Africa that pollution from land-based sources and activities in Eastern Africa is a major threat to the marine...

On 17 March 2010, Marine and Coastal Management informed the South African fishing industry that it intends foregoing the requirement that right holders must apply for permission to change vessels - on an initial experimental basis and in certain sectors only. The affected sectors are south coast rock lobster, west coast rock lobster, hake long line and the hake trawl fisheries. Comment on this proposal is due by 30 April 2010. Right holders in these fisheries who wish to change their fishing vessels - and provided that the alternative vessel is one that is already operational in the sector - need only inform MCM of the change of vessel and the right holder must submit a catching agreement if the right holder is not the owner of the alternative vessel. The proposed policy change needs to be welcomed as a first step to resolving the numerous suffocating bureaucratic requirements imposed by MCM on the fishing industry, such as having to repeatedly submit the same documentation with each ...