Small-scale fisheries governance and understanding the snoek (Thyrsites atun) supply chain in the Ocean View fishing community, Western Cape, South Africa

Postapartheid fisheries reform in South Africa, through the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) 18 of 1998, used individual transferable quotas (ITQs) to broaden resource access through allocating quotas to new entrants, even though the system has been created to reduce capacity through a reduction in the number of active fishers. The formal action space created through fisheries reform in South Africa left many artisanal fishers to operate in the informal action spaces, selling Thyrsites atun (snoek) to poor communities to sustain their livelihoods. Artisanal fishers were not recognized by MLRA of 1998 and through class action case brought against the ITQ system, and in out of court settlement with the claimants in 2007, 1000 interim relief permits will be allocated to artisanal fishes and the development of a new small-scale fisheries policy for South Africa. In this case study of a fishing community in Ocean View, Cape Town I examine a snoek fishery that operates differently, through a community supply chain and informal markets, than that of the high value ITQ regulated species, yet plays a significant role in the livelihoods of artisanal fishers and in the food security of poor households. The findings of this case study show the failures of existing policy frameworks and the implications for the implementation of the new small-scale fisheries policy in South Africa.Web of Scienc

The humble sardine (small pelagics): fish as food or fodder

Background: The group of small pelagic fish is the largest species group landed globally. A significant proportion of this nutrient-rich food is processed and lost to livestock feed, fish feed, fish oil, pet food and omega-rich vitamins. The nutritional importance of small pelagics as an easily digestible protein source, rich in essential lipids with fatty acids (EPA/DHA), essential amino acids, minerals and vitamins, is well known and documented. Small pelagics contain all the elements of a healthy and nutritionally optimal food source for humans and are an important contributor to the food and nutritional security of many poor, low-income households in developing countries. Findings: Large-scale and small-scale fisheries play an important role in contributing to food security and nutrition. Yet, all of the anchovy landings from large-scale fisheries are reduced to animal feed, fish oil and pet food in South Africa. The size of the species, labour costs and lack of incentives by the state are some of the challenges to redirecting anchovy for human consumption. This trend is also now prevalent in Tanzania, where most (84%) of the dagaa fished is reduced to fishmeal in Kenya, mainly to feed chickens. The main challenges are post-harvest handling and sanitation. Conclusions: The redirecting of small pelagics to human consumption will depend on the role of the state in Tanzania and South Africa in investing in post-harvest processing. The role small-scale fisheries play in providing fish for food security needs to be understood in the context of economic viability and of how data are reported in this sector as compared to large-scale fisheries.Scopus 201

Mainstreaming of HIV and Aids into South African fisheries policy

This research investigated the drivers and the impact of HIV and Aids in fishing communities in South Africa, in order to assist the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Marine and Coastal Management (DEAT:MCM) with mainstreaming of HIV and Aids into policy on fisheries. The research was based on in-depth analysis of four fishing communities in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape

Fisheries crime, human rights and small-scalefisheries in South Africa: Acase of biggerfish to fry

Marinefisheries plays an important role in ensuring food security and providing livelihoods in South Africa, as inmany other developing coastal States. Transnationalfisheries crime seriously undermines these goals. Drawingon empirical research this contribution highlights the complexity of law enforcement at the interface betweenlow-level poaching and organised crime in the small-scalefisheries sector with reference to a South African casestudy. Specifically, this article examines the relationship between afisheries-crime law enforcement approachand the envisaged management approach of the South African Small-Scale Fisheries Policy

Current state of extension and advisory services in South African fisheries

The fishing industry can be divided into marine, recreational, aquaculture and inland sub-sectors. The marine sub-sector is the main commercial fishing sector comprised of industrial fishing and also smallscale fishing, the latter having just been gazetted in June 2012. The recreational sub-sector has the most participants with over three quarters of people participating in the sector. The last two are new sectors that are currently being created and legally formalised. The marine small-scale fisheries, inland fisheries and community aquaculture have been established on the basis of providing for food security and poverty alleviation for coastal communities and inland rural communities. Prior to the revised Marine Living Resources Act of 1998, only marine commercial fishing and recreational fishing had been legally recognised as the fishing activities. Fisheries management had thus been the conventional science based centralised type whereby government was solely responsible for management of fisheries. Because fishing rights were only given to a few entities, an exclusionary type to co-management between government and the few players was possible. As a result of this past management approach, government had not developed a formal extension capability. This changed after the end of apartheid in 1994 and the entry of increase numbers of rights holders into the industry as part of transformation of the industry. Despite the entry of increased number of people into the industry, interaction and consultation between government and industry has been formalised through scientific and management working groups. Participation in these working groups is through representation by a selected member of a rights holders association, meaning that those that do not belong to industry associations are not represented. Industry associations also make use of private (consultant based) advisory and legal services. Other coercive forms of advice to industry by both international and national organisations are the market and consumer based initiatives such as certifications and fair trade

'It's all about money! Implementation of South Africaís new fisheries policy

This paper was originally written as part of an economics study commissioned by the Chief Directorate: Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) of the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). Since the 1994 ‘negotiated revolution’, South Africa’s fishing industry has been under pressure to ‘become transformed’, just like most other industries and administrative institutions. The broad goals of the new dispensation were gradually spelt out, starting with an initiative in late 1994 which led to the establishment of the Fisheries Policy Development Committee (FPDC), via a White Paper on fisheries policy in 1997, and finally on to the passing of new legislation at the end of 1998 ñ the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA). Although the Act is clearly a compromise between the existing industry owners and the political representatives of previously disadvantaged groups, it nevertheless opened a considerable ‘action space’ by insisting on ‘the need to restructure the fishing industry to address historical imbalances and to achieve equity within all branches of the fishing industry’ (MLRA section 2(j)). And reform was urgently needed. Just like the rest of South African society, the fishing industry was extremely racially skewed in terms of ownership of existing vessels and factories, as well as the allocation of quotas and fishing rights (Hersoug 1998; Hersoug & Holm 2000). The same pattern applied to industry leadership and fisheries administration ñ it was predominantly white. However, after years of discussions and planning, the high hopes pinned on implementing the proposed reforms have not borne fruit. More than two years after having passed the new MLRA, there is a high level of confusion about what is expected of the established industry and what is possible (in terms of redistributing quotas and fishing rights) for the new prospective entrants. In spite of having produced the long-awaited new framework for fisheries, production is falling, distribution conflicts seem to be endemic, litigation is becoming more common and huge human as well as economic resources are being expended on all kinds of ‘rent-seeking’ behaviour. What went wrong and why

The political economy of land governance in Africa: The role of universities in decolonising curricula and promoting critical scholarship

Decolonising the land requires decolonising our universities. In South Africa there is a live conversation about the need to decolonise our universities—an idea that expands beyond transforming our curricula, to drawing on the work of African scholars, to changing the character of our institutions, linking them more closely with communities and with policy audiences. As we think about decolonising our universities, we need to think about how, as African institutions, we pull together to strengthen land governance across the continent. As sites of knowledge production and training, universities are central to advancing and realising the African Union’s agenda on land. The key documents here are the African Union’s Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy (2009) and the Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa (2010) adopted by the Heads of State.African Land Policy Centr

Mainstreaming of HIV and Aids into South African Fisheries Policy

This research investigated the drivers and the impact of HIV and Aids in fishing communities in South Africa, in order to assist the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Marine and Coastal Management (DEAT:MCM) with mainstreaming of HIV and Aids into policy on fisheries. The research was based on in-depth analysis of four fishing communities in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape

Backing small-scale fishers: Opportunities and challenges in transforming the fish sector

Globally, small-scale fisheries play a significant role in food security, poverty reduction and income generation (Béné et al 2007; Heck et al 2007; Béné et al 2010; FAO 2003). At the 2008 Global Conference on Small-Scale Fishing in Bangkok, Thailand, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), it was indicated that small-scale fisheries contribute to more than half of the world’s marine and inland fish catch. The importance of this sector is further underlined as it employs over 95% of all men and women engaged in fisheries worldwide and that, of these, more than 90% are to be found in developing countries (FAO 2009). In Africa, it is estimated that the fishing sector provides income for over 10 million people engaged in fish production, processing and trade. And the sector contributes to the livelihoods and food security of over 200 million people on the continent1. In South Africa, however, fisheries have historically been dominated by the commercial marine sector