12 Months of a DA Fisheries Minister: What's Different?

12 months ago, South Africa saw the appointment of its first fisheries minister from the opposition Democratic Alliance party as a consequence of the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU). 

Admittedly, there was a substantial amount of hope that the decades of mismanagement, bad policy, destructive fisheries management and corruption at the Fisheries Management Branch located at Foretrust Building, Foreshore, Cape Town would come to an end. 

That hope was not blind hope. It was based on the fact that while in opposition, the DA had espoused the type of policies and action needed that would certainly see the rapid righting of the rotten fisheries ship that is the Fisheries Management Branch. 

12 months later and that hope has been dashed as the DAs Dion George has actually just continued with the same bad policies and incompetent / corrupt staff that he inherited from his ANC predecessors. In fact, George has been doubling down and issuing even worse decisions and proposing appalling policies (draft transfer and FPE policies). 

In January 2025, his DDG summarily decided to terminate 178 abalone exemptions and deny these divers the right to export the previous season's quota because of apparent findings of criminality by these abalone divers. The decisions were taken without first consulting with any diver or even attempting to understand how the sector operated. Moreover, his department simply refused to explain the grounds for the apparent criminal findings, which later morphed into allegations and then later allegations subject to "verification". 

Only in late April and May after some 113 divers filed an application for relief against these unlawful decisions did George's department start issuing "notices" alleging the apparent criminal violations. And almost all of these are just nonsense and an indication that his staff decided to starve 178 exemption holders on absolutely spurious grounds. 

The same corrupt and incompetent staff that happily ran riot during Creecy and Joemat-Pettersson's terms remain employed. 

The same weak, unnecessary and costly administrative systems remain in place. (Cf for example what George's colleague at Home Affairs has achieved with respect to corruption, inept staff and systems).

What we have seen George do plenty of, is travel to international conferences and cut ribbons. 

Other than signing the High Seas Treaty (which is of significant importance), George has not done anything substantively important to fix fisheries. When he has addressed fisheries management, he has simply read from the ANC's playbook about "fishing rights for all" and more fishing rights to small-scale fishing co-ops which are proven failures from Port Nolloth to KZN. 

He has not done anything to expose the corrupt processes for the sale of confiscated fish (read lobsters and abalone) to daylight and scrutiny (which is what every DA shadow minister since Pieter van Dalen demanded happen).

He has not overhauled the corrupt and incredibly disastrous fisheries control and compliance units. He's staff continue to harass commercial fishing skipper's and hinder their operations with "bribe-seeking" fines. 

Critically, he has not led from the front and 12 months after his appointment, he has not addressed the South African fishing industry and set out his vision, goals and targets. 

SA commercial fisheries is in a state of collapse due to a decade-plus of mismanagement and institutional corruption. Back in 2004, there were 22 functional and well-managed fisheries with some 3000 commercial (800) and small-scale commercial fishing right holders (2200). Today, there is no more than 13 functional fisheries and who knows how many "right holders" - we dont know because the department refuses to publish rights registers especially in the small-scale co-op sector. 

George had the perfect opportunity to up-end this mismanagement and regression and focus on growing fisheries and collaboration of the SA fishing industry. 

George appears happy to be led by the nose by the same staff who advised Creecy and have overseen the current state of fisheries management. 

What is Going on with Fisheries Control? Do Not Pay Those Fines!

 What is going on with fisheries control, Minister George? Your FCO's are randomly issuing fines to skippers of fishing vessels demanding they pay "admission of guilt fines" for the most mundane non-existent issues. 

FCO's are supposed to foster a relationship of co-operation with the fishing industry as opposed to creating a hostile environment where it appears that FCO's are out looking for bribes. What else could explain why FCO's are issuing fines in cases where a tuna pole vessel's newly painted lettering mistakenly reads "TB" as opposed to "TP"? 

Or issuing a fine to a tuna long line vessel because it has wooden bamboo poles on board because the FCO does not know that bamboo poles are also used to gaff tuna caught by long line to be brought safely on board the vessel? (Not to mention that the tuna long line conditions do not contain a definition of what is "tuna long line gear" and there is no criminal prohibition for having fishing gear from another fishery on board a long line vessel).

There are dozens and dozens of cases where skippers are issued these J534 notices and told that they must "sign" the fines and pay the admission of guilt fines. 

Our advice is: You dont have to sign any fine and any threat by an FCO should you not sign is unlawful. And do not consent to the payment of admission of guilt fines as these admissions admit to criminal guilt and can affect future fishing right and permit applications.

Once the fine is issued, consult with a lawyer and have the lawyer prepare representations to the senior prosecutor of the court concerned for cancellation of the fine. 

There has not been a single fine issued to date that we have seen or assisted with that has not been quashed by a senior prosecutor. And this includes dozens of fines issued to abalone divers listed as "category 2" offenders. It is noteworthy that after various prosecutors and magistrates threw these matters out, the Minister actually had the fines issued in the jurisdiction of other courts in a desperate attempt at "forum shopping". 

Just yesterday, the Cape Town Magistrates Court cancelled a fine issued to a boat owner because "its VMS was not functioning" despite the fact that the VMS was in fact reporting. The Department's VMS receivers are either so outdated or simply dysfunctional that the department is in fact at fault and not vessel owners who are now being issued fines. 

Do not pay these fines and do not admit guilt.