Small-scale fishers along the Kwa-Zulu-Natal coast are hoping the seventh administration will advance their cause for a bigger piece of the lucrative business amid mounting challenges in the sector.
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George told parliament in his maiden budget vote speech this week that the department was committed to accelerating the support of small-scale fisheries cooperatives in the coastal provinces.
This will be done through the Working Fisheries Programme.
“We need to connect and re-connect our coastal communities to the ocean economy and encourage entrepreneurship,” said George.
He said the department has submitted the Aquaculture Development Bill to the National Assembly for approval.
“We will also conduct inspections and verification of rights holders in the six priority fisheries, hake, abalone, rock lobster, linefish, squid and pelagic,” George said.
Broadly, the bill seeks to -create a more enabling business environment for the industry to stimulate sector growth and development, boost investor confidence, and ultimately job creation.
Mtholephi Kunene, the chairperson of the Tugela Mouth Small Scale Fishers in Mandeni, on the north coast of Kwa-Zulu-Natal, said while the government has previously shown interest in addressing their plight by granting small fishers cooperatives fishing licences, the wheels of change have been moving slowly.
“The programme of issuing long-awaited licences to small-scale fishers was a step in the right direction. All we want is an -equitable tenure right to fishery resources and fishing areas,” explained Kunene.
He said while the fishing licences -heralded a new dawn in the often-neglected sector providing livelihoods to many families in coastal areas, it has been an uphill battle to enter the small-scale commercial fisheries market.
“We must be financially assisted like other sectors.
A financial boost even if it comes through small loans for small-scale fishers to purchase fishing vessels and stuff like that,” he said
Dan Mdluli of the KwaZulu-Natal Fish Traders Association said while there has been a steady demand for their catch from eateries around Durban, Richards Bay and other coastal towns, restaurants and other buyers of the ocean product are exploiting their vulnerability.
“We can’t negotiate prices. They make our conditions difficult. It’s a take-it-or leave-it set-up. They make huge pro-fits out of our hard work.”
According to the Department of Fisheries, KwaZulu-Natal has 91 black small-scale fishers while the Indian population constitute 15% in the sector.
There is also a very marginal percentage of white small-scale fishers with no coloured representation in the sector.
