A window of hope for fishermen

Hundreds of small-scale fishers around the country who had their rights cancelled last month will be able to carry on with their trade until government’s appeal process is complete.
Fishers who were refused line fishing rights can apply for exemptions pending the outcome of an appeals process. This was announced by the agriculture, forestry and fisheries department (Daff) on January 7 after their meeting with the Traditional Line Fish Associations of SA (TLFA).
The battle between Daff and the majority of  fishermen over fishing permits took a sour turn after the fishers had to dock their boats on New Year’s Day when they lost their fishing rights.
The new permits were allocated after the permits that were granted in 2005 expired on December 31.
Daff announced the rights allocation on December 30. Apparently out of 3490 applicants, only around 600 rights were granted in seven different sectors.
Of 1556 applications for traditional line-fishing rights only 215 were successful. In KZN only 18 out of the original 49 permits were awarded and according to Daff’s website only seven of those were renewals.
Fishers claim the process of allocating permits was unfair because the majority of those granted rights were new entrants and most previous permit holders were left out in the cold.
“Daff will assess the exemption applications on an expedited basis in order to ensure that deserving applicants would be able to go to sea as soon as possible,” said Daff’s deputy director general Desmond Stevens to the Cape Times.
He denied any foul play in the reduction or issuing process of traditional line-fishing licences.
The DA has written to the public protector Thuli Madonsela requesting that she launch an investigation into the lawfulness of the processes followed in the allocation of rights.
In the meantime all applicants, would be provided with letters stating why they were granted or denied fishing rights. They would be able to carry on with their trade until the appeals process was completed.
To gain an exemption, former rights holders in KZN must prove they went to sea for at least 150 days between 2007 and 2012.