SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Town played host to the delegates from the marine conservation sector last month as the Society for Conservation Biology’s (SCB-Marine) Global Marine Program hosted the 7th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC7).

Members of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) Working Group on Aquaculture (WGAq) recently participated in an intensive twenty-day biosecurity training program organised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Knowledge Co-Creation Program (KCCP) in Japan.

SOUTH AFRICA: The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, has published a notice in the Government Gazette inviting the public to comment on the draft policies on the Allocation and Management of rights to operate a Fish Processing Establishment and the Transfer of Commercial Fishing Rights (collectively the Draft Policies).

SOUTH AFRICA: The Competition Commission approved the proposed transaction whereby Mitsui O.S.K. Lined, Ltd intends to acquire Gearbulk Holding AG, without conditions noting that the transaction does not raise any public interest concerns and does not  substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market.

SOUTH AFRICA: Hosting the Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile, Dr Gloria de la Fuente González this week, the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Narend Singh signed an MoU to strengthen bilateral communication and collaboration on fisheries and aquaculture.

SOUTH AFRICA: Researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are calling for an overhaul of the country’s logistics performance indicators and emphasised the need to migrate from singular, disconnected views of the logistics system towards an integrative, localised view.

In an award ceremony dominated by European yacht builders, South African Southern Wind Shipyard beat YYachts of Germany and Aegean Yacht of Turkey to claim the overall title of Best Sailing Yacht in the 24 to 40 m category.

The longer transit routes adopted by ships wanting to avoid the Red Sea and who opt to sail around Africa are believed to be enhancing crew morale and improving life at sea. This unexpected consequence is highlighted in the latest Seafarer Happiness Index released by the Mission to Seafarers.