Fishing gear aims to help small scale fishers benefit from rights
Donation of fishing gear and equipment
SOUTH AFRICA: Much needed fishing gear and equipment was donated to small scale fishing enterprises in Port St Johns yesterday when Eastern Cape MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR), Nonkqubela Pieters, visited the community.
Although the province has 75 fishing cooperatives with fishing rights, most of them struggled to harvest the marine resources due to inadequate infrastructure, fishing gear and equipment.
During the last financial year, the Department invested R1.7 million in support to small scale fishing cooperatives along the province’s coastline as part of driving agricultural development programmes. The support will benefit five cooperatives with 195 fishers in the OR Tambo, Amathole and Alfred Nzo District municipalities.
The fishing equipment includes fishing rods, fishing lines, landing nets, flat blades and sucking pumps while the fishing gear has wetsuits, diving flippers, masks, gloves and life jackets.
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