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White Paper: Marine Fisheries Policy for South Africa

5 May 1997

CONTENTS

1 PERSPECTIVE AND OVERALL POLICY OBJECTIVE

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Fisheries

2.1.1 Introduction
2.1.2 Demersal fishery
2.1.3 Pelagic fishery
2.1.4 Rock lobster fishery
2.1.5 Abalone fishery
2.1.6 Linefishery

2.2 Total production and trade

2.3 Institutional structures in South African sea fisheries

2.3.1 Government institutions, an overview
2.3.2 Brief history and current situation
2.3.3 Funding

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3 THE FISHERIES POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

4 ACCESS AND ACCESS RIGHTS

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Current industry structures and conditions

4.3 Participation and broadening access

4.4 Proposed new access regime

4.5 Methods of empowerment

4.5.1 Expanding equity ownership in companies

4.5.1.1 The Share Trust

4.5.2 Encouragement of small-scale fishing operations
4.5.3 Contracts with fish-processing companies
4.5.4 Helping small-scale operators improve efficiency
4.5.5 Unbundling, mergers, cooperatives and formal cooperation
4.5.6 Other measures

4.6 Implementation of the restructuring process

4.6.1 Phase 1

4.6.1.1 The Commercial Public Company
4.6.1.2 The Implementation Committee
4.6.1.3 The transformation process

4.6.2 Phase 2

4.6.2.1 Definitions and characteristics of the right
4.6.2.2 The process of allocating long-term rights
4.6.2.3 The legal nature of the right

4.7 Unutilized and underutilized resources

4.8 Recreational fishing

4.9 Subsistence users of marine resources

4.10 Access rights policy objectives

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5 FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

5.1 National v. regional or provincial resource management

5.1.1 General
5.1.2 Resource biological concerns
5.1.3 Research quality and management funding

5.2 Fisheries research in management

5.3 Research on marine resources and its capacity to foster fisheries sector development

5.3.1 Introduction
5.3.2 Role and focus of research

5.4 Management plans

5.5 Management tools and fisheries regulations

5.6 Environmental disturbance and pollution

5.7 Training

5.8 International cooperation

5.9 Monitoring, Control and Surveillance

5.9.1 General
5.9.2 The challenge of MCS in South Africa
5.9.3 Vessel monitoring systems and their application

5.10 Institutional management structures

5.10.1 Instruments of policy implementation and management
5.10.2 The Ministry and the allocation function
5.10.3 Sea Fisheries

5.10.3.1 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
5.10.3.2 Sea Fisheries Research Institute
5.10.3.3 Fisheries sector development

5.10.4 Advisory bodies

5.10.4.1 Consultative Advisory Forum
5.10.4.2 Fishing fora

5.10.5 Transparency and access to information
5.10.6 Consultation, fishing industry and other organizations

5.11 Management policy objectives

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6 LABOUR RELATIONS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

7 ASSESSMENT OF LEGAL CONSEQUENCES - A SUMMARY

8 ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS

8.1 Abbreviations and acronyms

8.2 Definitions

The full report of the legal Task Team is available on request from the Department

1. PERSPECTIVE AND OVERALL POLICY OBJECTIVE

The long-term vision for a democratic South Africa (as stated in the Macro-Economic Strategy presented by the Department of Finance) is

• a competitive, fast-growing economy which creates sufficient jobs for all work-seekers
• a redistribution of income and opportunities in favour of the poor
• a society in which sound health, education and other services are available to all
• an environment in which homes are secure and places of work are productive.

It is the objective of the marine fisheries policy to improve the overall contribution from the fishing industry to this long-term vision. Since fisheries is a relatively small sector within the national economy, its contribution will remain modest when measured in terms of macro-economic significance. Expansion of the sector's total activity is limited by the natural productive capacity of the living marine resources from which the activities derive, and the necessity to limit and control the total harvesting pressure according to what the resources can sustain on a long-term basis. In spite of these constraints, the fisheries sector is of great importance to the economy in several coastal regions, and for the livelihood of many communities. This perspective permeates all proposals put forward in this White Paper. The fisheries policy is founded on the belief that all natural marine living resources of South Africa, as well as the environment in which they exist and in which mariculture activities may occur, are a national asset and the heritage of all its people, and should be managed and developed for the benefit of present and future generations in the country as a whole.

This document sets out the main policy principles that the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism of the Government of South Africa will endeavour to implement through its marine fisheries management institutions in order to achieve this overall policy objective.

It must be stressed here that the term fisheries hereafter refers only to the marine fisheries. Inland (freshwater, and currently also estuarine) fisheries are an even smaller component of the economy, but are still important. They fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial administration or, in the case of aquaculture, the Department of Agriculture. No doubt some of the objectives and discussion that follow could apply equally well to freshwater fisheries, so consideration may have to be given to applying such objectives within other State competencies.

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2. BACKGROUND

2.1. Fisheries

2.1.1 Introduction

South Africa has a coastline of some 3,000 km, extending from the Orange River in the west, on the border with Namibia, to Ponta do Ouro in the east, adjacent to Moçambique. The western coastal shelf is highly productive, in common with other upwelling ecosystems around the world, while the east coast is considerably less productive but has a high species diversity, including both endemic and IndoPacific species.

The living marine resources of South Africa have been exploited for many centuries, there being some evidence of abalone having been exploited 125,000 years ago. Approximately 6,000 years ago, the "Strandlopers" (beach-walkers) were already exploiting many marine species, as shown by studies of middens along the coastline. Industrial fisheries started just before the turn of this century and, thereafter, effort escalated rapidly. By the 1960s, catches in several South African fisheries had exceeded sustainable yields and there were sharp declines in some key stocks, prompting initiatives to improve the scientific standard and base for management of the major fisheries.

2.1.2 Demersal fishery

South Africa's most valuable fishery commercially is the demersal fishery, a fishery dominated by deep-sea trawling for the Cape hakes. The fishery developed at the start of the century and grew rapidly after World War II to peak at more than 300,000 tons in the early 1970s. It then went into decline, which prompted the implementation of a larger minimum mesh size and declaration of a 200 nautical mile fishing zone (the former in 1975 and the latter in November 1977). The exclusion of foreign vessels and a conservative management strategy with effect from 1983 led to a gradual recovery in catch rates. In fact, hake catch rates by the mid 1990s had returned to levels last seen in the late 1960s. Since the late 1970s the hake fishery has been controlled largely by means of company-allocated quotas within a Total Allowable Catch (TAC), limitations on the number of vessels, and closed areas (mainly where Agulhas sole or pelagic fish are targeted).

A few foreign vessels still operated in South African waters until 1992, but by 1993 the only foreign quota was 1,000 tons of hake awarded for a joint venture with Moçambique in terms of a bilateral fishing agreement.

By 1996, the TAC of hake had risen from 120,000 tons in 1983 to about 150,000 tons (still some way short of the anticipated maximum sustainable yield of 180,000-200,000 tons). However, after the closure of an experimental longline fishery for kingklip in 1990, local fishing entrepreneurs exerted considerable pressure for the introduction of hake-directed longlining in South Africa. Longlining is seen as a less capital-intensive method of catching hake and a means by which access to the hake resource can be broadened. Part of the hake TAC has therefore been set aside for a scientific and socio-economic experiment to test the advisability of hake-directed longlining. The first phase of the experiment revealed that, in the long term, longlining alone is likely to be more beneficial to the hake resource than trawling alone. Longlines are highly selective and catch adult fish only, whereas trawling is less selective and catches many smaller fish. However, other questions about the impact of longlining remain to be answered, e.g. the different potential impact longlining would have on the two species of hake in our waters. A two-year experimental longline fishery was therefore initiated in 1996; effort is strictly controlled and the catches closely monitored for the collection of scientific and economic data.

Longlining for kingklip started in 1982, peaked in 1985 and then, as catches plummeted, was stopped in 1990. Although by-catches of kingklip catches in the trawl fishery are now showing signs of recovery, they still constitute only 1.5% of the total demersal landings, compared to 2-3% in the years preceding longlining.

The inshore trawl fishery operates along the south coast and comprises mostly small side trawlers working in waters shallower than 110 m on the Agulhas Bank. This fishery lands only 6% of the national hake catch but almost all of the sole catch. Sole is by far the most valuable species of finfish per unit mass landed in South Africa, although it constitutes only 0.5% of the total demersal catch. In 1978 the TAC was 700 tons, but it was increased to 950 tons in 1983. Since then, it has been reduced gradually to 872 tons as more data have been accrued and the modelling of the resource has become more rigorous. The fishery has on occasion been unable to fill these quotas, the scarcity of sole being attributed to environmental effects caused by El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events.

The midwater trawl fishery is relatively small and targets exclusively adult horse mackerel, which are also caught by the inshore and deep-sea trawl fisheries. Although adult horse mackerel are abundant on the south coast, their unpredictable behavioural patterns sometimes make them difficult to catch. Bottom and midwater trawling are often done alternately by the same vessel, depending on the availability of the species. Unfortunately, data for assessment of horse mackerel are not sufficiently rigorous to allow establishment of a TAC, so an annual precautionary upper limit of catch of 58,000 tons is currently in operation for all horse mackerel trawled east of Cape Hangklip.

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2.1.3 Pelagic fishery

The pelagic fishery is South Africa's largest in terms of volume landed. From 1975 until 1990, total catches fluctuated between 350,000 and 450,000 tons, except in 1987 and 1988 when catches averaged 675,500 tons, the largest since the inception of the fishery in the late 1940s. In 1990 and 1991, they dropped to 250,000 tons, the lowest level since 1958, recovered to 453,000 tons in 1992, and then declined again, to only 214,000 tons in 1996. With its stock size the lowest in recent records, prospects for any anchovy catch in 1997 are poor.

Pelagic catches fluctuate because anchovy, a short-lived species prone to massive recruitment swings, dominated the catch from the 1960s until 1996. Used for the manufacture of fishmeal and oil, it has been the single most important species since 1966, when overfishing caused the pilchard stock to collapse. However, pilchard has recently been showing a steady recovery, to the extent that by-catches of juvenile pilchard became so abundant in the anchovy catches that the reduction fishery could not operate efficiently. As a result, a modified management procedure had to be implemented at the beginning of 1994. It provided initial TACs for both species on the basis of results from end of year hydroacoustic surveys of spawner biomass, and made allowance for revision to these TACs after the mid-year hydroacoustic recruitment surveys. Pilchard biomass at the end of 1994 overtook anchovy biomass for the first time since the 1960s, and scientists and fisheries managers are now talking about species replacement. In light of the poor prospects for anchovy in 1997, a new management procedure for the fishery has had to be developed.

The only other species making up a significant part of the pelagic catch is round herring. This is a more offshore species which shoals deeper than anchovy and pilchard, and it is therefore largely out of the range of the present purse-seine fleet. Catches are infrequent and highly variable and, although it has been estimated that this species could support a fishery of 100,000 tons, little progress has been made in developing reliable methods to ensure more consistent catches. Finally, juvenile horse mackerel and lanternfish occasionally yield a few thousand tons (sometimes as much as 25,000 tons annually) to the purse-seine fishery.

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2.1.4 Rock lobster fishery

South Africa's commercial rock lobster fishery is based on two species, one on the south and one on the west coast. The latter is caught inshore by traps and hoopnets deployed from small vessels, and it is also harvested by recreational divers, and the former is a deep water species caught by means of longlines of traps set by larger freezer vessels.

The commercial fishery for West Coast rock lobster is controlled by company-allocated quotas within a TAC subdivided by geographical area. In recent years, a severe decline in the average somatic growth rate, believed to be a result of an unknown environmental anomaly, has led to a decreasing catch rate and necessitated a reduction in the TAC. A reduction in the minimum size that can be legally harvested, from 89 to 75 mm carapace length, was introduced in April 1992. The TAC was set at 2 200 tons for the 1992/93 season, but with somatic growth rate staying low, the TAC has since been reduced progressively. For the 1996/97 season, the TAC is 1 700 tons.

The South Coast rock lobster fishery has been in existence since 1974. No minimum size limit is enforced and animals are caught from a size of about 60 mm carapace length upwards. As this means that little protection is afforded to breeding females, a conservative TAC of 450 tons tail mass was set each year from 1984 in order to retain enough surviving adults in the stock to ensure adequate egg production and recruitment. It was later increased to 475 tons, but it is now declining. For the 1996/97 season, it is 412 tons.

In addition, an experimental deep-water longline trap fishery for Natal rock lobster was launched in 1994 to determine the viability of this potential fishery. Commercial catches are likely to be low, some 50 tons at the most, if the fishery is established.

2.1.5 Abalone fishery

South Africa's commercial abalone fishery remained relatively stable for many years, being controlled by a whole mass quota of some 600 tons. This was imposed in 1983 after irregularities were exposed in the implementation of the production quota, first set in 1968 to curb overexploitation, which peaked in 1965 at 2 800 tons whole mass.

The fishery is divided into seven fishing zones, but most of the commercial catch is harvested from only five. A TAC is set for each zone. Other means of protecting the resource are a closed season and a minimum legal size limit of 114 mm.

Licensed commercial divers operate from small boats and use the "hookah" system of air supply, in which a portable compressor channels air through reinforced hosepipe. Most of the catch is canned or frozen and exported to the Far East, although legislation stipulates that 10% must be sold in South Africa.

The lucrative market in the Far East has in recent years stimulated an escalation in illegal fishing activity. At the same time the number of recreational divers has been rising steadily, so that the total recreational take is now almost as large as the commercial take. Ways must be sought urgently to limit these activities or the species runs the risk of becoming commercially extinct in a few years. By the 1996/97 season, the TAC had already started to decline (560 tons whole mass), and scientific prognoses for the future, given the current lack of control over poaching, are bleak.

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2.1.6 Linefishery

The South African linefishery is split into three main components: the squid-jigging fishery, the tuna fishery and the general recreational and commercial linefishery.

The squid-jigging fishery targets chokka squid. After its initiation in 1983 the fishery grew rapidly until a permit system for vessels was introduced in 1987 to limit fishing effort. Today the jig-fishing fleet consists of about 300 mostly small vessels, such as skiboats and catamarans, but effort is creeping up and catch rates are declining. The resource is protected by a closed season of 3 - 5 weeks when spawning is at its peak (usually November).

Large fluctuations in abundance and availability are a feature of squid fisheries worldwide, and in South Africa are a reflection of the sporadic nature of inshore migration to the spawning grounds where the catches are made. Trawled squid make a small contribution to the total catches of chokka squid, but have been declining consistently since 1979. Much of the trawled catch used to be made by foreign vessels. South African trawlers also land red squid.

The commercial fishery for tuna began in 1960, when longlining was introduced, but despite annual catches of 2,000 tons, the fish fetched a poor price and operations ceased in 1964. The poling method, in which a baited hook or lure is attached by a short line to a pole, led to a renewed interest in commercial fishing for tuna in the late 1970s. In 1979 there was a massive run of yellowfin tuna and more than 6,000 tons were landed, prompting heavy investment in boats and tackle, but the large shoals failed to reappear the following year and the new industry came close to collapse. Effort was subsequently redirected at albacore (longfin tuna), which with smaller contributions from yellowfin, bigeye and skipjack has since provided the bulk of the South African tuna catch of 4,000 - 6,000 tons per year.

It is now known that total Atlantic Ocean albacore catches exceed the maximum sustainable yield of 25,000 tons and are not sustainable. A decrease is therefore inevitable. Also, although foreign operators (Japan and Taiwan) still make significant catches of tuna under license in South African waters, pressure for their removal is intense in some quarters.

Catches in the commercial linefishery peaked at 18,000 - 20,000 tons in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but then declined steadily to an estimated 7 300 tons in 1985. This was despite an increase in fishing effort as smaller, faster and more transportable skiboats replaced the earlier lineboats. The newer vessels enabled fishers to concentrate effort where fish were available and to follow migratory species along the coast, so effectively increasing pressure on the declining resource. The dropping catches, together with a decrease in the mean sizes of fish caught, led to calls for the protection of linefish stocks, and in 1984 the South African Marine Linefish Management Association was formed. Today management measures include minimum size limits, bag limits, closed seasons and closed areas (marine reserves), but catch rates continue to decrease as the numbers of fishers (commercial and recreational) rise annually.

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2.2 Total production and trade

The total annual catch fluctuates depending on the catches of pelagic fish, in particular on those of anchovy. The total commercial catch in 1995 was approximately 580,000 metric tons at a wholesale value of approximately 1,7 billion Rand. A breakdown by main industry sectors is given in table 2.2.1. and by main species in table 2.2.2.

TABLE 2.2.1: NOMINAL COMMERCIAL CATCHES (ROUND MASS) AND WHOLESALE VALUES

Source: Sea Fisheries

Note: Slight rounding and statistical variances cause the figures in this table to deviate slightly from those in table 2.2.2.

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TABLE 2.2.2: NOMINAL COMMERCIAL CATCHES (TONS ROUND MASS)

BY FISHERY AND SPECIES

Source: Fishing Industry Handbook and Sea Fisheries

The bulk of the production is consumed domestically, although the average per capita consumption of fish products in South Africa is relatively low compared to that of other fishing nations. The sector is, however, also characterized by its substantial level of international trade, resulting in a significant net contribution to foreign exchange. Breakdown by major commodity groups is given in in table 2.2.3.

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TABLE 2.2.3: SOUTH AFRICA'S IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF FISH IN 1994

(Source: Fishing Industry Handbook 1996)

Fishing industry activities create significant employment opportunities in the communities in which they take place. Although the figures are not recent, it is estimated that the total number of people employed in the commercial sector is around 26-27,000, distributed approximately equally between sea- and shore-based workplaces. In addition to these, it is a reasonable estimate that another 60,000 people find employment in related sectors, exclusively or partly dependent on the fishing industry as a market for its supply of stores, equipment and services. Provision of equipment and services to the recreational sector is another add-on to the employment generated by fishing activities in South Africa.

No reliable information is available with regard to employment in the subsistence sector.

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2.3 Institutional structures in South African sea fisheries

2.3.1 Government institutions, an overview

Over the past 30 years Sea Fisheries has resided under the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Industries, Agriculture, and since 1983 under the Ministry of Environmental Affairs (lately in alliance with the Department of Tourism, but in earlier years in alliance with other departments). The current fisheries management structure in South Africa is as follows:

2.3.2 Brief history and current situation

The first comprehensive legislation framed to protect marine resources was the Sea Fisheries Act of 1940, subsequently superseded by new Acts in 1973 and in 1988. A study of the above legislation clearly shows an evolution concerning several key aspects related to the utilization of the living marine resources, the issue of access rights to marine fisheries included.

In earlier years, quotas were granted by the Minister responsible acting on the advice of officials stationed mainly in Pretoria, officials who were not dedicated solely to fisheries matters and dealing with problems on an ad hoc basis. This state of affairs led to severe criticism by successive commissions of enquiry, notably Du Plessis in 1971 and Treurnicht in 1980. In 1982 the control post in Cape Town was upgraded to Chief Director and that local establishment was henceforth regarded as a component of the head office in Pretoria.

The Chief Directorate of Sea Fisheries is currently structured as follows:

The 1986 Diemont Commission gave considerable thought to access rights and related matters and proposed that the allocation of quotas be entrusted to a statutory board. This recommendation was accepted by the Government by way of its 1986 White Paper and the Sea Fishery Act, 1988 made provision for the establishment of a Quota Board. The first Board became operative in 1990.

The Quota Board (like the Sea Fisheries Advisory Committee) is appointed by the responsible Minister, who determines the number of members and the quorum. The chairman must meet certain requirements in respect of a legal background and no person with interests in the fishery may serve. The Act also stipulates that "a person in the employment of the State" may not serve on the Board. Notwithstanding the fact that politicians are not regarded as being in the employment of the State, their appointment would be contrary to the aims of the Board, namely to remove quota allocation from the political arena. The Board's function consists of the allocation of quotas to persons according to guidelines approved by the Minister. The Board may attach conditions to its quota allocations and no quota may be transferred without the Board's approval. The Board currently exerts control over access rights in the hake, Agulhas sole, pilchard, anchovy, West Coast rock lobster, South Coast rock lobster and abalone sectors. The horse mackerel (midwater trawl) sector is currently managed according to a precautionary upper level of catch.

The guidelines according to which the Quota Board takes decisions on access rights have been amended since their original approval by the Minister and are at present under review.

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2.3.3 Funding

While Sea Fisheries administration (including control) and research is funded by monies voted by the legislative assembly, the current Act also provides for the continuation of the Sea Fishery Fund established in 1973 under the name Sea Fishery Research Fund. Apart from other sources specified in the Act, the Fund is subvented by levies, after consulting the Sea Fishery Advisory Committee and with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance. The monies may be appropriated for sea fisheries research and development, as outlined in the Act.

The Sea Fisheries global operational costs are currently some R60 million, of which 20% is consumed by administration, 17% by the operation of marine vessels, 29% by marine control and 34% by the activities of the research institute. A total of some R9.5 million of these global costs, or 16%, is sourced from fisheries-related fees and levies, channelled through the Sea Fishery Fund. The balance comes from Central Revenue.

3. THE FISHERIES POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism initiated the process of developing a national marine fisheries policy at a public launch on 27 October 1994. A committee was appointed to develop it. This Fisheries Policy Development Committee (FPDC) organized its work by way of a Working Committee and Technical Subcommittees, which coordinated and integrated inputs from a comprehensive range of relevant interest groups, institutions and individuals.

Policy on the key issues presented in this document is largely based on the Report from the FPDC, submitted to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism on 4 June 1996. Policy rests firmly on the main objectives and principles listed below.

3.1 Optimization of long-term social and economic benefits to the nation

The natural resources of the land and sea of South Africa are a national asset and the heritage of all its people and should be managed and developed for the benefit of the country as a whole. In this context, custodianship of marine resources will be entrusted to the State, which will allocate rights to utilize living marine resources. At the same time, the State will promulgate regulations to ensure that such utilization is undertaken on a long-term sustainable basis and that it results in optimal social and economic benefits for its people.

3.2 Promotion of sustainable utilization and the replenishment of living marine resources

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The principles of replenishment and restocking of the resources are accepted as the prime objectives in order to achieve optimum sustainable utilization and the maintenance of biodiversity, the fundamental principles of managing resources on a long-term basis, and will be implemented taking due cognizance of the Precautionary Principle, and the need to manage fisheries so that populations of harvested and other marine organisms are maintained at levels consistent with their roles in the ecosystem.

3.3 Management and development of fisheries shall in all material aspects comply with the principles of the Constitution of South Africa and the long-term objectives and principles of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)

3.4 Transparency and accountability in marine resource management

The management of living marine resources and all aspects of the decision-making process will be open and transparent. Administrators and stakeholders will be accountable for their actions.

3.5 Fair and equitable access

• Access to marine resources shall be fair and equitable.
• The allocation of rights to utilize marine resources will be impartial, noting that access must be limited in order to achieve the policy objective of sustainable utilization.

3.6 Management of living marine resources will be based on the best available knowledge and multidisciplinary research within the context of sustainable utilization

3.7 There should be a holistic approach to fisheries and the utilization of marine resources, including the following goals:

• increasing the long-term absolute value contribution of fisheries to the GDP
• increasing employment opportunities in the harvesting, cultivation, processing and non-consumptive use of living marine resources
• investigating new resources and the enhanced utilization of underutilized resources
• the development of domestic and new markets and the expansion of value-added activities
• the development of tourism and recreation in coastal areas
• creating and sustaining a stable and internationally competitive industry
• addressing historical imbalances.

3.8 Participation in resource management

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• local communities, labour, scientists and resource users will play an active role in the management of marine resources
• all resource harvesters will be required to keep data for management purposes.

3.9 Acceptable conditions of employment

Holders of fishing rights will provide acceptable conditions of employment for all employees with respect to income, health and safety, training, job security, retirement and other employment benefits.

3.10 National and provincial levels of management

• Research and management of marine resources shall be in accordance with the specifications of the Law of the Sea Convention and other accepted international standards, and will be coordinated, as specified in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, at the national level.
• Marine resources will be managed and controlled nationally, and the allocation of rights will take place on the national level. However, provincial authorities could play a useful administrative role in the case of inshore resources which have low mobility and are confined to a particular region.
• In terms of international agreements, neighbouring countries will be consulted where rights are being allocated to shared stocks.

3.11 Acts, regulations and strategies

No control or enforcement body, government act or regulation and harvesting strategy will be rescinded until such time as there is a clear replacement for its function, or its function is not necessary.

4. ACCESS AND ACCESS RIGHTS

4.1 Introduction

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Marine resources are by definition a national asset and the heritage of all citizens. However, in order to ensure the sustainability of the resource, it is necessary to limit harvesting levels, and therefore access to the resource. Limiting entry creates a privileged group of sectoral actors who enjoy access to living marine resources, in contrast to all other South Africans who do not. In South Africa, access to these resources has not always been fair and equitable. As a result, the industry is faced with numerous problems which even threaten the sustainability of the resource itself. In order to address the problems of the industry it is necessary to develop mechanisms which achieve the following objectives:

• a fairer system of allocation of access to rights to harvest South Africa's living marine resources;
• a system which ensures greater access to the resource by those who have been denied access previously;
• a reduction in the current levels of pressure on the resources, which in some cases threaten the very sustainability of a resource.

In proposing changes to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to stress certain principles. These are outlined in the paragraphs that follow.

Those who enjoy the privilege of access should pay an appropriate fee. Fisheries administration (including management, research, development and control) is expensive and the costs should be covered by those enjoying the privilege of access. The commercial sector will pay the fee in the form of either a royalty or suitable rate based on quota, catch or effort. This system will make calculation simple, transparent and link it to the amounts that commercial fishers will earn. Funds generated in this manner should, to the extent required, be made available for execution of the fisheries management functions.

A dynamic, thriving fisheries sector depends on a sound resource base. The primary objective of South African fisheries policy must therefore always be to protect and safeguard the resource and its environment, in order to be able to reap an optimum, long-term sustainable harvest. To achieve this, limiting entry is imperative. The alternative, open or liberal access to the resource, inevitably leads to overexploitation, depletion or even extinction of stocks, wasteful overcapitalization of the industry and consequent loss of income and jobs.

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The present system of access rights has to be restructured fundamentally. Minor changes to the current system of access rights will not resolve the current problems. A new system, which creates real long-term rights, wherever feasible based on a percentage of the TAC of a resource, should be established.

Recent political change has raised expectations that the industry has scope for many new small operator entrants. This is not the case. In fact, most of South Africa's marine resources are already being harvested at sustainable levels and in some cases are under severe pressure. If we are to avoid the demise of some of our fisheries, as has occurred so often elsewhere in the world, pressure on the resources must be reduced in order to sustain them. In some cases this might even mean the number of fishers would have to be reduced. Under the current incentive quota system, coupled with the desire to broaden participation, the temptation exists to allocate rights in those fisheries which are relatively healthy to fishers facing hardship in declining fisheries. However, within these constraints, redistribution must occur speedily and the fragmentation and fragility minimized and eventually eliminated. Redistribution and empowerment must take place without destabilizing the industry unduly.

Any restructuring process is difficult and painful. The number of persons and organizations who harvest the resource has to be limited. The proposals in this Chapter will cause a necessary restructuring of the industry, but will help to put in place a sustainable industry able to contribute to South Africa's macro-economic objectives of employment, competitiveness and economic growth. Those who purchase rights (see 4.4) will have a real, long-term asset and will be able to take a long-term view and make investment decisions which will allow them to sustain their competitiveness.

If South Africa is to achieve fair and equitable access to its fisheries while ensuring sustainability, speedy and urgent action is required. It is proposed that changes be introduced in two phases. Two phases are necessary because of legal constraints (rights cannot be summarily withdrawn) and because it will take time to restructure the access rights regime fundamentally. The first phase should be implemented immediately, because certain steps can be taken immediately to address problems facing the industry. The second phase would require time to implement, but preparations for implementation of Phase 2 should start immediately.

4.2 Current industry structure and conditions

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The commercial fishing industry has quota and non-quota sectors, the former being significantly larger in terms of value and quantity. Quotas (catch controls) to catch a stipulated quantity of a specific species are allocated to individuals or companies. In addition, permits are granted to individuals or companies to catch unlimited quantities of non-quota species using defined technologies and subject to other limitations (effort controls).

The quota sector of the industry is made up of a few large companies and a number of smaller ones. Both types have, however, invested large sums in plant and machinery, with the consequence that some sectors of the fishing industry are overcapitalized. The current quotas have been allocated by the Quota Board (see 2.3.1 and 5.10.2), an unpopular system. Although the Quota Board makes its allocations according to agreed criteria, the quotas are generally perceived to have been allocated arbitrarily, and often unfairly. Consequently, the industry is steeped in uncertainty and insecurity throughout, i.e. in companies large and small.

The system cannot be reformed by changing the character of the board, or by giving the power to allocate quotas to another body or individual. The defects are fundamental and structural. As long as quotas are allocated annually, without requiring payment commensurate with the value acquired and by a discretionary administrative decision-making process, the current problems will remain.

The present system also places an unnecessary burden on the Ministry, the Department and Sea Fisheries. The fishers understandably believe that the party that lobbies most actively has the best prospects of getting a quota. Excessive lobbying is inefficient and results in wastage of productive time. If the structural paradigm through which quotas are obtained is fundamentally altered, the lobbying activity will diminish considerably.

4.3 Participation and broadening access

The global community of sectoral actors accessing South Africa's living marine resources may be divided roughly into three main groups of participants:

• Commercial sector
• Subsistence sector
• Recreational sector.

A specific resource is affected by the total pressure brought to bear on it by the combined harvesting activities of all sectors. To achieve the objective of long-term sustainable utilization, all fishing activities must be subject to regulation.

The permits of the individual rights-holders will specify the technical resource control measures which will be applied to their rights. Sea Fisheries can change the permit conditions if scientific research and other information supports and justifies such changes. However, the permit conditions will be restricted to control measures and will not impact on the fundamental nature of the right nor its purchase price.

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Participation in the subsistence and recreational subsectors is already broad. The management challenge in relation to those two sectors is to achieve more reliable registration, monitoring and control of participation. (Proposals in respect of these two subsectors are made later in this chapter.) The same is generally not the case in the commercial sector in which, for historic reasons, a relatively narrow pattern of participation and quota distribution prevails. The actual situation for some major commercial fisheries is summarised in table 4.3.1.

TABLE 4.3.1: QUOTA DISTRIBUTION IN SOME KEY FISHERIES IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 1996

Source: Sea Fisheries

This illustration of the present concentration of access may be elaborated by introducing the aspect of colour or ethnic group associated with the respective quota-holders. If so analysed, the picture displays an overwhelming quota-holder dominance by the formerly advantaged sector of the population. This is on its own merit strong testimony of previous unequal opportunity and likewise a strong argument for broadening future participation.

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The promotion of small and medium enterprises within the context of creating a globally competitive industry is crucial. Some activities require large-scale highly capitalized operations, whereas others require small operators with lower capital requirements. Many players in the industry view small as good and big as bad or vice versa. This belief is unfortunate because the different niches and markets require different operators to operate competitively. What is needed is a vibrant, dynamic and competitive industry comprising players which, while competing, also need to cooperate to make the South African fishing industry competitive. Such a cooperative spirit will also allow subcontracting under fair conditions which will benefit both parties mutually.

4.4 Proposed new access regime

It is proposed that, in future, rights of access not be made available as at present through the allocation of permits and quotas, but rather be converted to real rights or other forms of secure rights purchased through a transparent and competitive process. Instead of perpetuating the current system of dominant players and adding to it a new group of smaller players, which will only create further surplus capacity in the industry, it is proposed that the new policy include the following components:

• current holders of fishing rights will be encouraged to restructure their ownership and control to achieve empowerment objectives throughout the industry;
• initial allocation of rights would make provision for a range of players of varying sizes, to avoid excessive domination of some fisheries by a few large players, but avoiding excessive proliferation of the industry which would reduce the ability of the State to effectively regulate it;
• as not all participants may wish to acquire permanent rights, provision would be made for the establishment of a vehicle to enable players to lease rights for shorter time-periods of one or more seasons.

This last objective can be achieved by holding an auction whereby rights are allocated on a competitive basis to bidders who compete on the basis of empowerment criteria and previous participation in the industry and by creating a company to acquire fishing rights from the State to on-lease to private players. Such an approach will achieve a rapid transformation to a more representative industry, make provision for a range of new smaller players to enter the industry, ensure that the State, as representative of the peoples of South Africa, receives adequate compensation for its protection of a sustainable industry, avoid the creation of additional surplus capacity in an industry which is already fully harvesting most resources, permit a competitive industry to develop, and help in maintaining sustainable fishery resources for the nation.

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4.5 Methods of empowerment

There are several ways whereby the existing large players can enable others to achieve the empowerment criteria which will enable them to compete for access rights:

• expanding equity ownership in companies;
• restructuring of the industry in order to move in the direction of larger proportions of the quota being sold to small-scale fishing operators;
• encouraging contracts with fish-processing companies;
• helping small-scale operators improve efficiency;
• unbundling, mergers and the formation of co-operatives and other forms of formal commercial cooperation.

4.5.1 Expanding equity ownership in companies

This is one of the ways of broadening participation. The process does not render existing capacity redundant, but it does facilitate transfer of ownership to the previously disadvantaged, allows economies of scale and for transfers of skills and experience.

Equity transfers will occur by:

• a previously disadvantaged group buying a significant portion of equity in a large company;
• a portion of the equity being sold to employees in terms of a share participation scheme;
• a Share Trust being established which would allow previously disadvantaged people to purchase shares by paying a deposit and the balance of the purchase price over several years. There are several financing mechanisms which facilitate this type of transaction.

Ideally, a combination of all the above three methods will result in a significant percentage of the equity being transferred to the previously disadvantaged.

4.5.1.1 The Share Trust

A Share Trust is an instrument that maximises the participation of ordinary South Africans and creates empowerment. Its main features would be:

• a low cost investment with payment over an extended period;
• a guaranteed minimum return with at least the capital invested being protected;
• full leveraged participation in any improvement in the share price of the company invested in.

It is possible to structure such an investment to offer an attractive proposition that would, if marketed properly, be taken up by a large number of people. Successful implementation of the Share Trust will require the cooperation of various parties. The main requirements are:

• the vendor (a listed fishing company) to offer shares on the basis of a deferred option to purchase at an attractive price;
• these shares to be sold through a public offering to previously disadvantaged persons at a discount;
• the offer if subscribed to foster the widest possible empowerment;
• the vendor to offer to buy the shares at the purchase price if the price falls below the purchase price during the three-year period. Such a mechanism would protect low-income investors.

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4.5.2 Encouragement of small-scale fishing operations

Small-scale operators can only be independent if real rights are sold to them. If they were to be given rights on an annual basis they would still suffer from the uncertainties facing others in the industry. This statement implies a gradual transformation towards preferring smaller vessels and in some cases less sophisticated or more affordable fishing methods, especially inshore.

4.5.3 Contracts with fish-processing companies

Small-scale operators will, if they have real long-term rights, be in a stronger position to negotiate fair prices for their catches. Some small-scale fishers are currently completely at the mercy of some fish-processing factories because such factories determine the price, place of delivery and other conditions under which the small operators are contracted. These arrangements barely enable small-scale fishers to survive and are unfair. Real rights will improve their bargaining power considerably and tilt the scales in favour of smaller operators.

4.5.4 Helping small-scale operators improve efficiency

As support services for small operators have been inadequate up to now, they do not have access to the latest technology, new innovations, research and other support services that would improve the efficiency of their operations and their competitiveness. They should be assisted, perhaps via the UFMD (see 5.10.3.3).

4.5.5 Unbundling, mergers, cooperatives and formal cooperation

The established, larger fishing companies can and should play an important, active key role in the process of structuring the industry in ways leading in the direction indicated by the policy objective of broadening participation in fishing activities. Such an attitude would no doubt be in the long-term interests of those companies from the point of view of securing reliable supplies of raw material for fish processing, seeing that they cannot in future rely on maintaining equally substantial proportions of available TACs as they have today. One approach could be to reorganize their fishing operations, unbundling (or "privatizing") them into separate, independent fishing companies. The original owner company could still maintain some minority ownership in the new independent companies, and would of course have the opportunity to negotiate mutually beneficial arrangements with regard to buying, processing and marketing the catch. Access rights and corresponding quotas formerly belonging to the original owner company would then be gradually transferred to these new, independent fishing companies, in step with provisions on maximum relative proportions of available quotas or total applied effort taking place.

Further, to obtain efficiencies and competitiveness, smaller operators could combine their efforts to benefit from economies of scale and to share the expenses of resources which are important but not used extensively. Cooperatives could, for example, provide shared refrigeration facilities, marketing, bulk purchases of raw material and capital equipment. Such avenues of sectoral development within the fisheries of South Africa will be encouraged.

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4.5.6 Other measures

Other measures to broaden participation include:

• giving new players access to rights which have been forfeited by others;
• through a "buy-back" option, where applicable;
• increased value-added products;
• better use of material currently discarded (including by-catch);
• underutilized resources;
• mariculture;
• new resources;
• stock enhancement.

Opportunities offered by these measures will be evaluated and implemented by the Implementation Committee (see 4.6.1.2).

4.6 Implementation of the restructuring process

It is important to effect the restructuring as soon as possible and over as short a time-period as feasible to reduce uncertainty and to enable the industry to focus on maintaining and strengthening its international competitiveness. However, rights currently allocated cannot be immediately withdrawn without significant disruption to the industry, and other imperatives make it necessary to undertake the restructuring in a phased manner.

4.6.1 Phase 1

Two measures are proposed for urgent implementation:

• the establishment of a Commercial Public Company to which quotas are allocated and which in turn rents them to fishers who do not have quotas;
• the establishment of an Implementation Committee of finite life.

4.6.1.1 The Commercial Public Company

This company will purchase quota from the State as set out later. The purpose of the company is to rent, lease or contract the quota to small and medium-sized enterprises with some capacity. Further,

• the State will be the sole shareholder;
• the company will be governed by the provisions of the Companies Act and the Act establishing it;
• its main objective and purpose will be to allow small-scale fishing operators to catch fish on a commercial basis;
• its ancillary objective will be to run as a pilot project in the run-up to Phase 2;
• it will have an independent board of directors, who will be experienced business persons but will not have any interest in the fishing industry except as government advisors;
• the directors will be empowered to employ the managing director and staff;
• the company will not require a large staff complement because it will not be permitted to catch fish directly, but will sell or rent its rights to catch fish to others;
• the fishers to whom the right is leased, rented or contracted will pay to the company a negotiated price for catching the fish.

4.6.1.2 The Implementation Committee

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A small Implementation Committee with the necessary background experience, skills and expertise should be established speedily to evaluate, develop and implement the proposed restructuring. The Department would be represented on the committee by an official from the Chief Directorate of Sea Fisheries because it must work closely with the Department. The Implementation Committee's tasks will include:

• drafting guidelines on royalties and payments which will be payable on future rights;
• simplifying the tendering process of Phase 2, developing tender criteria, calling for tenders and adjudicating them;
• developing proposals on dealing with the rights to by-catches;
• developing guidelines on the maximum and minimum number of fishers each fishery can sustain;
• developing guidelines for criteria and parameters that future new entrants will have to meet to be eligible for tendering for rights;
• developing guidelines for the introduction of an ultimate ceiling in terms of tonnage above which any percentage of the TAC cannot rise as a consequence of sustained growth in the resource - this may offer an opportunity for allowing new entrants in future;
• investigating mechanisms which can be used to transform permit fishing rights into secure rights.

4.6.1.3 The transformation process

Opportunity to tender for rights will be open to new entrants who can demonstrate that they will be able to establish the capacity to harvest the resource and to disadvantaged individuals and companies who have invested in the industry or have a history in the fishery. In addition, previously advantaged companies who have made significant progress in transforming themselves and in broadening participation will be eligible to tender. The industry will be given a reasonable period to implement empowerment and affirmative action strategies. As the current holders of rights will know that long-term property rights will be sold in the not too distant future as well as the conditions that must be met for them to be eligible to bid, they will have an incentive to broaden participation. Transformation and broadening participation will include:

• Transferring significant equity to previously disadvantaged persons and communities. Several companies already have some processes in place to effect such transfers. These efforts should be evaluated and suggestions made on how the process can be improved and accelerated.
• Changing the boards of directors by bringing in new directors from previously disadvantaged sectors. These directors should not be token appointments and be placed on the boards merely to change their colour. They should rather be able to bring fresh perspectives, add value to the deliberations and help in formulating and implementing internationally competitive strategies.
• Transforming management. Companies will have to run management training programmes and promote or recruit previously disadvantaged persons to occupy senior and top management positions. The transformation will not result in "Black" managed companies but will change them from "White" managed to "Rainbow" managed companies.
• Transferring skills. Currently, sufficient effort and resources are not allocated to transfer management, technical, financial and administrative skills to previously disadvantaged persons. The tender requirements for eligibility to bid will accelerate the process of skills transfer.
• Restructuring to become globally competitive and to use appropriate technologies where circumstances warrant. For instance, companies are making efforts to comply with the requirements which give their products entry into foreign markets.

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4.6.2 Phase 2

The new Sea Fisheries Act (see Chapter 7) will introduce a new resource-management system. Fishers will be invited to purchase real, long-term rights through a once-off bidding process.

Those fishers who are successful in their bid for rights will acquire real, long-term assets which will be transferable and inheritable. The system will be established as soon as feasible. However, in the longer term, attempts will be made to extend such rights to non-quota species. The rights may specify the technology (level of effort) to be used at the time the rights are offered for purchase. (For example, the hake quota will state whether the specific proportion of quota sold will be caught by trawling or longlining. )

4.6.2.1 Definitions and characteristics of the right

An access right is the right to catch or to harvest one or more specified species of South Africa's living marine resources through the exercising of some specific fishing effort, subject to and conditional upon certain restrictions, constraints or limitations of the following nature:

• the amount of fishing effort that may be exerted in terms of type and size of fishing vessel, type of fishing gear or fishing method, area, areas or zones where the right may be exercised, size of individual fish species caught, or time periods (seasons) within a year in which the right may be exercised;
• quantity of target species and of other species taken as unavoidable by-catch, limited in terms of a percentage of the TAC.

Some of its characteristics are:

• the quota will be a percentage of the TAC;
• the TAC will be determined annually;
• the value of a right will enhance that of a business because it will be reflected as an intangible asset on the balance sheet;
• the right will have to be purchased, and the purchase price, including the costs of managing the resource, will be paid annually;
• the right will be sold for a long period and will revert to the State within that period (e.g. a maximum term of 50 years will revert at a rate of 2% per year; a minimum term of 10 years can revert at a rate of 10% per year or, for that term only, in total - i.e. 100% - after the 10 years). The characteristics of different fisheries may require different time-horizons and corresponding schemes of attrition;
• the right will be divisible, subject to a minimum specific quota size for a particular technology;
• there would be a ceiling on the maximum tonnage associated with or a direct percentage of a TAC which can be accumulated by a single quota-holder.

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4.6.2.2 The process of allocating long-term rights

• Companies and fishers will be advised that rights will be sold through public tender to which they will be invited to submit bids.
• All tenderers must demonstrate that they will have the capacity to harvest the resource for which they are tendering.
• Fishers who bid will be required to pay for their right.
• The State will not necessarily accept the highest bid, but will take account of empowerment criteria, the bidder's participation in the industry and its efforts to restructure.

The State, after consulting its own advisers, will sell to the successful bidders the rights as percentages of the TAC or as a right to deploy effort. The rights will be sold to a mix of small and large companies and will facilitate the emergence of a financially sustainable and internationally competitive industry.

4.6.2.3 The legal nature of the right

• the right is transferable, inheritable and divisible;
• the right is to catch a proportion of the TAC or to exercise a certain amount of effort, determined annually by the relevant authority;
• the right will prescribe the technology to be used;
• the right will prescribe the quantity of by-catch that can be caught with the main species;
• the right will be subject to input controls which will be based on the results of scientific research and other evidence gauged against sustainability;
• the right will be sold with prescribed input controls, such as mesh size, geographically defined fishing area, type of vessel, and vessel licence, which will be the conditions to which the right will be subject;
• the contravention of any of the conditions will attract legal penalties which could result in forfeiture of the right;
• the right can only be sold to South African citizens or South African companies in which the majority of the shares are owned by South Africans;
• the right will prescribe that the holder must employ South African citizens to catch the fish and that processing be done preferably in South Africa;
• the right will prescribe conditions which allow the regulating authority to monitor and control the activities of the holder effectively;
• the right can be traded, leased and sold freely to another South African citizen, subject to the consent of the regulator. Transfer of the right is only effected upon registration by the regulator. (A procedure similar to the transfer of immovable property could be adopted. The immovable property owner is free to sell his property to any willing buyer. The property is always subject to the conditions of title detailed in the Title Deed. Delivery is only effected upon the registration in the Deeds Office.);
• the right will acquire an economic and monetary value which will be determined by the market. Any rights-holder wishing to borrow money on the security of the right will have to register a bond over it, similar to a mortgage or notarial bond;
• the right will be attachable by a judgement creditor who will be able to register an interdict preventing the rights-holder from alienating the right without withdrawal of the interdict;
• it is the prerogative of the Department to amend the conditions associated with the right in any manner considered beneficial to the holders of such rights, to the health of the resource, or to both.

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4.7 Unutilized and underutilized resources

Such commercially exploitable resources exist, many of which are only to be found in deep water. Development of fisheries for such resources requires companies with substantial capital and may sometimes only be feasible to be undertaken by larger companies. Companies which plan to invest to develop fisheries on these resources may negotiate with the State to secure rights to a portion of the resource should they be successful in designing a technology to exploit it.

4.8 Recreational fishery

The importance of the recreational sector is indisputable. Approximately 750,000 people participate in recreational angling each year and spend at least R750 million per year (1995) in the process. The spin-off from these recreational activities in terms of investment in equipment and boats, in terms of employment in shops selling fishing gear and in the tourist industry, is significant. The actual annual catch, some 17,000 tons of high value species, is also significant in light of the substantial opportunity cost it represents by being unavailable to other potential user groups. Whether or not recreational users should be entitled to sell their catches to defray some or all of their costs is a hotly debated question.

However, there are a number of obvious dangers. First, sales of recreational catches could act as an incentive to increase total sector fishing effort and entail increased risks of overexploitation and illegal fishing. Second, such sales may financially undercut commercial catches by selling at lower prices than viable for the latter, recreational users not being dependent on selling their catches for a living.

4.9 Subsistence users of marine resources

In parts of the country, coastal communities have traditionally made use of intertidal and shallow-water resources as a source of food. For those people, often the poorer sector of South African society, such resources can contribute a substantial proportion of their protein needs. If legally entitled to sell part of their catch according to traditional patterns and volumes of trade, these extremely needy people may utilize their resources to provide a modest, but important source of income. The nature of these fishing activities, knowing the difficult conditions of life experienced by the population in the communities in which they take place, may easily jeopardize the soundness of the vulnerable resources on which they depend and therefore also their long-term sustainability.

Recent demographic changes in the coastal areas have enlarged the subsistence fisheries sector. Some of the activities justified under the term subsistence fisheries have put pressure on the resources and it is necessary to have a clearer definition of subsistence fishers. The following criteria shall be used to classify people as subsistence fishers:

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• only people who catch for consumption as members of coastal communities;
• people who sell only surplus they do not consume;
• the sale of surplus is by the fisher that caught the fish;
• the surplus is sold locally;
• the surplus may not be accumulated, i.e. at any given time no more than the daily bag limit is be held;
• fishing is done using some prescribed gear.

Educational programmes need to be launched to foster and promote an adequate understanding of the inter-relationships between responsible fishing, resource soundness, ecosystem health and community prosperity, i.e. the basic principles of sustainable resource utilization.

4.10 Access rights policy objectives

From the information and discussion outlined above flow certain policy objectives. They are summarized simply below.

It is a policy objective that

• An appropriate percentage of the TAC of all quota species be sold to a Commercial Public Company to rent, let or contract to emerging fishery operators;
• As soon as feasible, all rights be sold by a tender and competitive bidding process. The price will be paid over the period of duration and the right will diminish at an appropriate rate to the State;
• Opportunity to tender for rights will be open to new entrants who can demonstrate that they will be able to establish the capacity to harvest the resource and to disadvantaged individuals and companies who have invested in the industry or have a history in the fishery;
• Established companies who have made significant strides in transforming themselveswill be eligible to tender, as will others who have a history in the fishery and a demonstrated capacity to fish;
• The rights sold be real, transferable, divisible, saleable and inheritable, subject to sustainability constraints;
• An Implementation Committee of finite life be established by the Minister urgently to investigate, evaluate, integrate and implement these recommendations;
• In order to promote long-term sustainable resource utilization, a comprehensive register of the participants in all sectors be established and maintained, and that all fishing activities be subject to permit;
• The actual as well as the potential total fishing effort be curtailed and kept under control in order to arrive at a situation where, on average, the installed fishing capacity and the available quotas, non-quota-regulated harvesting activities included, is in a sound balance based on precautionary principles of judgement;
• Taking into account the overwhelming, basic development needs competing for financing from State budgets and the need to improve the legitimacy of resource utilization privileges, payments for the use of the resource be made by all users. Payments should suffice to cover most of the global recurrent operational costs of adequate fisheries management (including research, development and control) administered ideally in a single Sea Fishery Fund.;
• Structuring and broadening of participation take place while maintaining reasonable stability within the fishing industry, in order to minimize adverse effects on existing stakeholders and the economy in general. Instruments of broadening participation could include, inter alia, a shift of focus for entitlement to fishing (permits and quotas) towards others already involved in activities related to fishing, giving preference to small and medium-size enterprises and to upliftment enterprises or schemes. This statement implies a gradual transformation towards smaller vessels and in some cases less sophisticated or more affordable fishing methods, especially inshore. Legislation should be introduced to the effect that no single quota-holder (person or legal entity) be allowed to control more than a certain relative proportion of any given TAC. The wisdom of allowing a single quota-holder to hold broad access within the whole fishing industry will also need to be addressed;
• The development of fisheries on unutilized or underutilized resources be encouraged subject to the Precautionary Principle, involving initial experimental operations, and appropriate research monitoring and trial periods of fishing. In allocating rights for such resources, private initiative, innovation, investment and risk will be given due acknowledgement and preferential consideration;
• The utilization of all marine resources within South Africa's 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone be the prerogative of South African interests, but in cases where inadequate local capacity prevails, and conditional upon specific authorization, South African national interests may be considered best served by allowing limited foreign participation,when and as appropriate;
• The rights of people to harvest living marine resources for recreational purposes be recognized, and they be subject to registration and licensing. Recreational fishers will not be allowed to sell their catch;
• People in coastal communities, within specified areas and zones and within sustainable limits and appropriate fishing management constraints, have access to local marine resources in order to provide for their subsistence needs according to traditional patterns of use. They should also be subject to registration and licensing.

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5. FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Fisheries management can take place within a diverse variety of institutional frameworks. Its basic purpose can be seen as the pursuit of certain objectives through the direct or indirect control of effective fishing effort or of some of its components. At one end of the scale are local, informal customary law practices based on participants controlling each other. At the other end is highly formal, sophisticated management consisting of inputs from multidisciplinary research, formal consultation and advisory processes, detailed legislation and regulatory measures, as well as monitoring, control and surveillance and enforcement and development units. All fisheries management has as its point of departure a range of more or less clearly defined policy objectives aimed at achieving the best possible use of its living marine resources. To define and to establish priorities between criteria of such best possible use and their qualities is a political matter. Fair and legitimate distribution and allocation of scarce resources is the very essence of fisheries policy. The administrative structures of management are the government's instrument of policy implementation. In any fishing nation, they must be designed accordingly. The implementation of fisheries management systems able to meet their objectives within available and sustainable resources, i.e. cost-effectiveness, by ensuring a maximum objective achievement with a minimum input for enforcement and monitoring, is the key test of the institutional capacity of the overall system of government institutions in fisheries.

5.1 National, regional or provincial resource management

5.1.1 General

South Africa's diverse and rich coastal ecosystems have been exploited as a food source for centuries. Gleaning of mussels and other marine organisms from the intertidal zone and the capture of fish in rivers and estuaries as well as in the sea have provided important sources of protein. However, there are clear signs that increasing population pressure and the consequent potential for overexploitation and environmental degradation of coastal resources are reducing the ability of coastal systems to sustain human activities. The ecosystems and associated renewable and non-renewable resources found within the coastal regions of South Africa play a major role in sustaining the economic and social development of the nation. While it is difficult to put precise values on the economic and environmental goods and services generated by coastal ecosystems, their contribution to the national economy and to the employment and food security of local populations plays an important role in sustaining the well-being of millions of people. These same coastal resources offer potential for the expansion and diversification of economic activities.

If these ecosystems and resources are well managed, they will continue to serve a strategic role in meeting the needs of current and future generations.

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5.1.2 Resource biological concerns

The marine resources of South Africa vary widely in their biological characteristics, the way they are distributed, and in their life history patterns. Many marine organisms are distributed throughout the waters adjacent to one or more provinces, and whereas some resources may be amenable to other than national management, almost all of significant utilization interest are not. It is simply not realistic, from a biological and fisheries management perspective, to refer to all the marine communities of a single province as a single marine resource. So, for example, an expression such as "the 'XX province' marine resource", wi