Fishing industry calls for improved engagement
SAMSA acknowledges status of fishing sector
SOUTH AFRICA: Members of the fishing sector were especially vocal at an engagement with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) this week in Cape Town, pressing for the Authority to prioritise surveying and certification processes that are currently impacting the industry’s capacity to operate effectively.
The new SAMSA CEO, Captain Dennis Mqadi was forced to acknowledge that the sector remains one of SAMSA’s key clients as his team fielded comments and complaints. “The fishing sector is one of the biggest economic contributors to SAMSA,” he told stakeholders during the B2B engagement session.
“This engagement is long overdue,” Tim Riddell told the SAMSA team as he noted a misalignment between their operational and technical strategies and deliveries; and asked the leadership to address the lack of fishing sector representation at board level.
“Having sat on numerous boards that are required to regulate industry, we have always had members of the industry on those boards. I hope that, in the spirit of cooperation, that we can find ways of bringing the fishing industry online.”
“Having sat on numerous boards that are required to regulate industry, we have always had members of the industry on those boards. I hope that, in the spirit of cooperation, that we can find ways of bringing the fishing industry online,” he said.
Referencing the outcomes of the fishing vessel audit undertaken during 2025 that identified strategic changes, Riddell suggested that the resultant additional workload for the SAMSA team further amplified the staffing constraints and burdened service delivery.
“The workload was effectively increased, but the workforce has decreased. The supply and demand do not meet and solutions that were offered by industry were not implemented,” he said.
Responding to the concerns, Acting COO, Thandi Mehlo admitted that since the 2025 fishing vessel audit the SAMSA office had been facing a huge backlog. “The audit was undertaken after several serious incidents and we were directed to assess the general state of the fleet,” he said, explaining that issues relating to modifications were highlighted during the process.
“Modifications were made by the vessel owners to improve fishing capabilities and living conditions on board,” he added. According to Mehlo, in many cases, these modifications negatively impacted on the overall stability of the vessels.
“They did not do the necessary stability tests and the vessels became unstable. We now have to test these vessels for compliance,” he said acknowledging that this had increased the workload within SAMSA.
“They did not do the necessary stability tests and the vessels became unstable. We now have to test these vessels for compliance.”
“We see this as a temporary backlog. We are trying to work with external naval architects to address this, but we do not have a process to formally recognise naval architects and are working to fix this,” Mehlo said, highlighting the multi-layered challenges facing the Authority.
Mehlo also confirmed the intention to reinstate the National Fishing Forum (NFF). “We recognise the fishing sector as one of the bigger stakeholders and we are working to finalise the terms of reference for the NFF,” he said.
Well represented at the SAMSA B2B session in Cape Town and facing significant pressures to ensure safety without disrupting operations, the fishing industry are invested in a well-resourced and efficient maritime authority that functions effectively.
PHOTO: Fishing industry representatives engage with the leadership team from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) at a B2B session in Cape Town. (© Maritime Review Africa)
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