Cape Town - Traditional commercial fisherfolk and boat owners in Kalk Bay feel they have been robbed of their livelihoods in the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (Dffe) 2021 fishing rights allocation process (Frap) after being denied fishing rights.
Some of these fisherfolk, who have been fishing from Kalk Bay Harbour for more than 50 years, have taken issue with the 2021 Frap.
They say they have had to close their factories, lose employees and customers while approximately 30 boats stand idly docked in Kalk Bay Harbour as they await the outcome of the department’s appeals process.
In response to parliamentary questions posed by DA forestry, fisheries and the environment spokesperson Dave Bryant, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy stated that her department would not be supporting these unsuccessful applicants or grant exemptions as the overallocation in the management of fisheries would lead to overfishing and the collapse of fisheries.
This was despite the fact that it was the first time in over 50 years that some of the applicants were unsuccessful.
In this instance, the minister said granting exemptions would mean that successful applicants, together with unsuccessful applicants who would be in possession of an exemption, will both be operating in the sector at the same time and harvesting fish in excess of the approved Total Allowable Catch (TAC).
She said this would be in conflict with the primary objectives of the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) of conservation of the marine ecosystem and the long-term sustainable utilisation of marine living resources.
Kalk Bay boat owner Kobus Poggenpoel said that he has had to close his factories, leaving himself and his employees without work.
“The department and the minister stink. It’s already been five months and they cannot even settle on what is happening with our appeals.
“All the work and investment we put into our businesses over the years has gone down the drain because of this government,” Poggenpoel said.
Another struggling Kalk Bay skipper, Peter Swart, said: “My boats have been in Kalk Bay since 1949 and this boat has been fishing in this harbour commercially since then. We supply I&J, different factories and local markets here in the harbour.”
Bryant said it was an accurate conclusion that both the online Frap and the protracted appeals process have created uncertainty for fisherfolk and put many of them in a dire financial position that they may never be able to recover from.
