Fishers still waiting: Has anything changed under the DA?

It is no secret that several of our fisheries are in deep trouble, with small operators once again suffering the most. Resources are severely depleted, oversubscribed, and saturated with paper quotas. Compliance monitoring barely exists apart from weighing catches at the slipway in the case of lobster and abalone, while prices achieved for catches are nothing short of an insult.

Added to this, fuel prices have increased to the point where, if you are a small operator, you practically have to fill your boat before breaking even.

For these reasons, I must admit I was quite excited when the DA took over Fisheries from the ANC, hoping that these issues would finally be addressed.

It became clear that new approaches and practical solutions were urgently needed, and several submissions were made to the department to alleviate pressure on both struggling fishers and depleted resources.

1. One proposal, aimed at reducing fuel expenses and cutting down on pollution, requested permission (through exemption) for commercial fishing from a kayak in addition to a registered fishing vessel — although not simultaneously. If someone already has the legal right to fish, what difference should it make which platform they use? The request was flatly denied on the grounds that it did not comply with the very legislation from which exemption was being sought. In legal terms, this effectively amounts to circular reasoning. An appeal was submitted and has now been “hanging” for nearly six months, while the official responsible for the appeal has become unresponsive.
2. An abalone recovery plan was also submitted to the department, involving scientists, environmental organisations, abalone farms, and abalone right holders, with the aim of providing financial benefit while restoring the resource. The scientific working group refused to engage with those who proposed it, stating instead that they would draft an “improved” version themselves. That was nine months ago, and nothing has materialised to date.
3. Another request was submitted to allow launching and landing at Maasbaai in the commercial linefish and West Coast rock lobster nearshore sectors. This would result in major fuel savings, reduce wear and tear on vessels, improve safety, and decrease boat traffic through the Betty’s Bay MPA, where one of the few remaining breeding colonies of the critically endangered African penguin survives. Importantly, launching and landing are already freely allowed for the recreational sector in the same fisheries at this location. The request was nevertheless denied on the grounds that the department lacked the capacity to enforce it. This raises an obvious question: who, then, is enforcing the recreational sector, and does the department not have a legal obligation to police these activities as well? An appeal was lodged, but this matter has also remained unresolved for an extended period.
4. DFFE scientists frequently state that they lack sufficient data to make informed TAC determinations. A proposal was therefore submitted to use continuous GoPro recordings on commercial abalone divers to monitor the actual condition of this critically endangered resource. The idea was also to compensate financially struggling divers for collecting this information, rather than outsourcing the work to external contractors. The proposal was quietly pushed onto the back burner, supposedly to be “discussed” at the abalone scientific working group meeting after the season ends.

Coming back to the DA: it took some time for Dr Deon George to start showing encouraging signs, and I began sensing some positive changes before he was unceremoniously sacked by his own party.

The DA’s official reason for replacing Deon George with Willie Aucamp as Minister of Fisheries was “underperformance”.

Following that logic, one would expect to see a noticeable improvement in efficiency within the fisheries department.

From the examples above, however, little evidence of such improvement exists. DFFE officials continue to reject valid requests as a matter of principle. The requirements of just and fair administrative action are routinely ignored, while the plight of both fishers and our marine resources continues to worsen.

The DA has a genuine opportunity here to prove that it is, as it so often claims, “better than the ANC”.

Many of us are still waiting — with baited breath.