By Larry Claasen
PARLIAMENT’s portfolio committee on forestry, fisheries and the environment is not happy with the way fishing rights are allocated.
In a report on its activities for the 6th Parliament, the committee said the “fishing rights allocation process needs to be audited and monitored and transgressors penalised and brought to book.”
The committee made this recommendation following public hearings and correspondence it had with small-scale fishers, who told it they were not happy with the allocation process.
The report said small-scale fishers had told the committee that they were not benefitting from the fishing rights allocation process, as it favoured the commercial fishery.
“Where rights were allocated to small-scale fishers, they were minimal and were not accompanied by support programmes to ensure that the fishers derive livelihoods and economic benefits from such rights.”
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) had told the committee that audits have been carried out that have cleared the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP) for 2020.
The report, however, pointed out that all was not above board when it came to the allocation process.
“There was sufficient evidence of irregularities to warrant the setting aside and restart of the Western Cape small-scale fishing rights process,” it said.
The report said small-scale fishers had told the committee that fronting was a problem. This was where black people, were reportedly used by commercial companies to gain rights without providing any benefits to those black people.
Some commercial fishers, however, were also not happy with FRAP. Greenfish Traders was one of about a dozen companies that took the DFFE to court over not getting fishing rights allocated to it.
In court papers Greenfish Traders said it had to rent out rights from Paper Quota Holders; a company that had no vessels or factories, whereas Greenfish Traders had its own boat and
facilities.
Greenfish Traders owner Ryan Nienaber said the review application was heard on 8 May 2024, he was currently awaiting judgement.
For Nienaber, the FRAP is clearly flawed.
“The fact that tuna fishing rights have been granted by the tens to entities that can’t fish tuna is evidence of the flawed nature of the fishing rights allocation process.”
He asked how a business like Greenfish, with all the expertise of being able to harvest, process, value-add to tuna and sell them, does not qualify for fishing rights but other entities which were now selling their rights for R1/kg of tuna were given rights first.
“Of the 130 rights allocated, we estimate that only 40-50 rights have been activated because the rest don’t have vessels or the skills to catch tuna.”
One remedy for preventing misuse of the FRAP is to limit or outright stop the transferring of fishing rights, something Nienaber would not mind seeing happen.
“Fishing rights are currently transferable. The policy governing the transfer of rights, however, requires urgent review as it is antiquated and fails to have any regard to the business of fishing.”
The DFFE did not respond to CBN’s request for comment on the matter.
