Improving leadership in small scale fisheries

Pilot project improves skills in the Eastern Cape

SOUTH AFRICA: The South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) in partnership with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), South African Maritime Authority (SAMSA) and the Oceana Maritime Academy, hosted a three day Integrated Small Scale Fisheries Empowerment Training Programme in Port Alfred.

The Small-Scale Fisheries Policy (SSFP) provides guidelines for creating an enabling environment for the sector development. It also advocates for a unique community-based rights, a co-management approach to fisheries management, a multi-species approach to fisheries management, and the incorporation of the human dimensions on Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAF) (DAFF 2018).

The three-day pilot project was aimed towards improving the quality of leadership and operational management skills of Small-Scale Fisheries in Ndlambe local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The training focused on business principles, financial management practices, safe fishing techniques, sustainable fishing practices, and general management of cooperatives. Facilitators from Oceana Maritime Academy and SAMSA constructively engaged these themes in detail with the cooperative leadership that was in attendance.

This pilot project aligns with SAIMI’s strategic goal of being an influential and leading maritime institute in growing, developing and transforming the face of the Oceans economy sector to reflect the demographics of the South African population. SAIMI’s support of these initiatives is part of the targeted efforts towards unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans, as projected by Operation Phakisa’s socio-economic contribution of the sector towards the country’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and employment creation.