Small scale fishers demand answers

Portfolio Committee hears from coastal communities

SOUTH AFRICA: Small scale fishers presented a list of demands to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) at the Portfolio Committee meeting this week threatening to take further legal action as they highlighted the severe impact of the total allowable effort allocation on the traditional linefish sector.

“The current allocation has effectively taken the sector back to the 2023 position,” Andre Cloete, chairperson of Coastal Links Western Cape, told parliamentarians. “At that time, we wrote letters and objected to the allocation, after which the Department revised the decision. The sector now faces the same problem again.”

Cloete delivered a scathing indictment of the decision-making process, arguing that small-scale fishers had been promised 40% of the allocation.

“There had been no clear explanation or meaningful platform for engagement before the allocation was made,” he said. “Small-scale fishers had previously been promised 40% of the allocation, but this had not materialised.”

He referred to earlier litigation, including the Kenneth George court case, which had resulted in a court order directing government to recognise and include small-scale fishers in the fishing industry. “Despite this, meaningful inclusion has not occurred,” Cloete said.

Emphasising the critical importance of linefish as the only year-round, non-seasonal resource available to small-scale fishers, he asked how, without the sufficient capacity, they were supposed to survive on the current allocation.  

List of demands

Coastal Links Western Cape presented six non-negotiable demands to the Committee asking for a written response within five days of the meeting:

◼︎ An immediate review and reversal of the 2026/27 total allowable effort decision.

◼︎ A proper process of engagement with the small-scale fishing sector to determine a fair and equitable allocation.

◼︎ A transparent review and redistribution of commercial sector allocations.

◼︎ Immediate limitations on recreational fishing effort in the traditional linefish sector.

◼︎ An independent investigation into how the decision had been made, and accountability for any negligence or failure to uphold legal and policy obligations.

◼︎ An exemption should be granted if the allocation is not reconsidered before the expiry of current permits on 28 February, allowing all small-scale fishers with valid basic service certificates to continue fishing until the allocation is amended.

Without a response, Cloete says that the organisation would consider further legal and public action against the Department.

“Fishing is not merely employment, but forms part of the culture, identity and generational knowledge of small-scale communities,” he said. “Removing access to the sea means losing dignity, heritage and the ability to provide for future generations. Sustainability cannot be achieved without fair access and redistribution.”

DFFE responds

During the meeting Nomfundo Tshabalala, the Department's Director-General, acknowledged that the decision had fallen short of policy commitments.

“As Accounting Officer and Director-General, I take responsibility on behalf of the Department for the recent decision,” she told the Committee, agreeing that the decision had not fully taken into account certain prior policy positions, including commitments relating to the promotion of livelihoods in coastal communities.

She added that the matter would be placed before the new Minister who had only assumed office in November, but also suggested that a formal appeal be lodged that could be considered by an an independent appeals team.

The Director-General committed to providing a response within the five-day timeframe demanded by Coastal Links, but explained that only the Minister could review the decision.

Following the presentations, Committee members supported the call for a written response from the DFFE, calling on the Department to grant some form of interim relief that would allow fishers to continue fishing while the appeal was under consideration.

Calls for the review of the Marine Living Resources Act to be undertaken before the end of the Seventh Parliament were also voiced.

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Bernice Swarts acknowledged the immediate challenge around quotas, but noted that the broader issue centred around finding ways to strengthen traditional fishers’ capacity to compete and operate sustainably.

She expressed hope that the appeal process would not take years to conclude, and urged stakeholders to consider practical steps to strengthen economic participation in the interim.

“After years of struggle to secure rights, tangible benefits have to materialise,” the Deputy Minister said. “The sector should not reach 2035 without meaningful progress for traditional fishers.”

PHOTO: Adobe Photostock Licence

Maritime lawyers must support maritime safety