SOUTH AFRICA: Hosting international participants to the Fish Platform Meeting at their premises last week, Sea Safety Training Group unveiled plans to roll out a Safety Management System (SMS) free of charge to the fishing sector.

Naval and air assets from a range of nations and organisations including Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, the Republic of Korean Navy, Pakistan Navy, Seychelles Navy, Djibouti Coast Guard and Yemen Coast Guard participated in an operation around the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa at the end of last month.

SOUTH AFRICA: The amended of Sections 21, 60 and 120 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act 91 of 1964) have been finalised and will come into effect on 30 November 2024, just over a year after the South African Revenue Service (SARS) brought the offshore bunkering operations in Algoa Bay to a close.

SOUTH AFRICA: Following a renewed spike in incidents during 2024, a total of 429 fishers have lost their lives in the South African fishing industry over the last 28 years with 2002 recording an alarming 57 deaths and 1999, 51 deaths.

GHANA: Building on calls to create a Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels (RRAFV), participants at the recent meeting of the West Africa Task Force (WATF) of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) discussed the operational considerations for establishing such a database.

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa currently has only five qualified naval architects at its disposal both within the private sector and within the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) – a situation that is resulting in challenges relating to the surveying and certification of fishing vessels.

SOUTH AFRICA: Fishers are six times more likely to succumb to fatal incidents while working; three times more likely to be in treatment for substance misuse and are more vulnerable to suicide than the general population.

EGYPT: Launched at the beginning of November by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), the Crew Change service to Canal-transiting vessels has reportedly been well-received by passing traffic.