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A key concern plaguing fisheries management in South Africa (besides the ever-problematic growth in demand and call for more quotas vs the depressing contraction of available quotas: see our last piece which touches on this subject), is the ongoing inability by fisheries compliance officials to make any significant impact in reducing illegal fishing - whether it is hake, pilchards, abalone, lobsters or line fishes.  I dont believe that this wheel needs re-invention. What is needed is a single-mindedness to cut out corruption by departmental staff, fishery control officers and the local "fisheries monitors" and to urgently implement some basic forms of smart monitoring, management and reporting technologies. Oh, and bring back those impressively efficient and effective Green Courts to prosecute, jail and asset strip poachers.   1. All marketers of fish (whether they export or sell domestically) must be required to register under the MLRA as the marketing of fish is a...

The ongoing community carnage in Hout Bay, which was apparently sparked by recommendations by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' (DAFF) scientific working group on lobster to cut the 2017/2018 season TAC by 69%, exposes our coastal communities' grave reliance on lobster for the incomes. Reliance on a single resource for ones entire or substantial portion of incomes even as small scale commercial fishers, has long been considered problematic.  That is why back in 2003/2004, the erstwhile Marine and Coastal Management identified the urgent need to expand the number of commercial and small-scale fisheries by identifying new fisheries. South Africa today could have had 28 or 32 commercial and small-scale-commercial fisheries. Unfortunately, today we continue with 22 fisheries; thousands more fishers added to rights registers; and more than 200,000 tons in reduced landings and catches since 2005.   When commercial and small-scale lobster fishing rights ...