Korea Punts Fisheries Co-operation with SA

Members of the Korean Maritime Institute and the National Fisheries Research & Development Institute met with members of the South African fishing industry, academics and officials from the Department of Fisheries to discuss possible areas of investment and co-operation in the fields of commercial fisheries and aquaculture.

The Koreans were clearly committed and serious about establishing a formal relationship albeit initially with private South African commercial interests. The Koreans arrived armed with membership forms for a "Korea-Africa Fisheries Forum" (KORAFF) which has already been established with a secretariat in place and located in Seoul.

Both Korean and South African participants agreed that there are a number of important areas in which Korean experience and investment could be leveraged to grow South Africa's fisheries and aquaculture sectors. These include the following:

1. Maximising harvests of anchovy and product value by partnering with local operators;

2. Increasing fishing efficiencies as South African artisinal and small scale fishers were highly inefficient if regard is had to the quantum of fish taken versus the value derived;

3. Assisting in the research and expansion of inshore fish resources together with identifying suitable markets for the product; and

4. Growing the South African aquaculture sector, with particular reference to fin fish and abalone.