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18th Apr 13

Managed by Chatham House

Financed by DEFRA

South Africa

South Africa has a 2,798km coastline, stretching from the Orange River at the border with Namibia to Ponta do Ouro at the border with Mozambique. The western coast is much more productive, while the east coast has considerable diversity of species. The fisheries sector only makes a contribution of around 1% to GDP and expansion is limited by the natural productive capacity and sustainability of marine resources.

Industrial fishing, started in the 1890s, led to sharp declines in key stocks by the 1960s, prompting initiatives to improve the scientific basis for management of the major fisheries. The main offshore fisheries include a bottom-trawl sector, hake-directed demersal longline fisheries, tuna and swordfish pelagic longline fisheries, a mid-water horse mackerel trawl fishery and a large purse-seine fishery for small pelagics, targeting pilchard and anchovy. The most valuable of these, in commercial terms, are the demersal hake fisheries.

South Africa also has a commercial abalone fishery which is divided into seven zones, each of which has a Total Allowable Catch (TAC). The stocks are also protected by a closed season and a minimum legal size limit of 114mm. Most of the catch is canned or frozen, and exported to the Far East, although legislation says that 10% must be sold in South Africa. The lucrative market in the Far East has, in recent years, led to an escalation in illegal fishing activity. At the same time, recreational diving increased. Due to the poaching and the sharp decline in stocks, recreational fishing was stopped in 2003 and the commercial fishery has been cut sharply. The state of the abalone stock remains a cause for concern, although compliance and successful prosecutions have increased recently.

The government introduced a new Marine Living Resources Act in 1998 and its commitment to fisheries monitoring and control has been demonstrated by the purchase of four new patrol vessels. South Africa is also involved in a number of regional initiatives concerned with fisheries management, including the Global Environment Facility supported Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem programme and Southwest Indian Oceans Fisheries Project (SWIOFP), and the former SADC MCS programme.

As a follow on action from the High Seas Task Force, the UK government is supporting an African policy process to tackle IUU fishing in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa. The programme brief and first update is available here.

documents (12)
events (1)
links (6)
news (134)
presentations (3)
profiles (1)

documents

The growth in certification of marine fisheries in Southern Africa: Potential benefits and challenges
01/10/2009
This report discusses potential benefits and challenges of certification schemes. It states that 'international ecolabelling initiatives are unde ...
Author: Institute for Security Studies, South Africa (Andre Standing)

Contextualising Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing of Marine Resources in South African Waters
13/04/2009
Illegal fishing in South African waters was losing the country around R6 billion a year, according to the author of this report commissioned by the In ...
Author: Institute for Security Studies, South Africa

Corruption and Industrial Fishing in Africa
01/12/2008
Africas marine resources are increasingly in demand and are gaining in geopolitical importance. Competition between key fishing nations for access and ...
Author: Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (Andre Standing)

Statement of Commitment by SADC Ministers Responsible for Marine Fisheries on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
04/07/2008
This is the Statement of Commitment signed by ministers from SADC coastal states at the end of a ministerial conference in Windhoek, 2-4 July 2008, to ...
Author: SADC (Southern African Development Community)

Stop Illegal Fishing in Southern Africa
02/07/2008
This report looks at the status and impacts of IUU fishing in the southern African region, covering a number of themes and issues including internatio ...
Author: Stop Illegal Fishing

Study and Analysis of the Status of IUU Fishing in the SADC Region and an Estimate of the Economic, Social and Biological Impacts
01/05/2008
The study explores and helps to quantify the magnitude and types of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing in the Southern African Developm ...
Author: Stop Illegal Fishing

FAO Regional Workshop in Port State Measures to Combat IUU Fishing: Report
01/02/2008
Representatives from Angola, Namibia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania met in Cape Town to discuss the issue of port state ...
Author: Stop Illegal Fishing

The Kilifi Declaration of Intent on the Unsustainable & Illegal Exploitation of African Oceans
19/12/2007
Unsustainable exploitation of marine resources in Africa’s oceans is occurring on a massive scale, causing the collapse of fisheries, the loss of ...
Author: Institute for Security Studies, South Africa et al

Southern and Eastern Africa Forum to Counter IUU Fishing
01/11/2007
The Southern and Eastern Africa Forum to Counter IUU Fishing was hosted by the Government of Mozambique and co-supported by the Stop Illegal Fishing P ...
Author: Stop Illegal Fishing

Programme of Support to Tackling IUU Fishing in Southern Africa: Programme Brief and Update no. 1
01/08/2007
As a follow on action from the International High Seas Task Force, the UK Government has committed to support an African policy process to tackle IUU ...
Author: Department for International Development (DfID), UK

IUU Fishing in South Africa: An Acronym with an Expiry Date?
01/01/2006
The author believes that the most fundamental and immediate threat to fisheries sustainability in South Africa is that of illegal, unregulated and unr ...
Author: Feike Marine Regulatory Law and Environmental Management Advisers

SADC Protocol on Fisheries
01/01/2001
Click here for links to the various sections of the Protocol. These include ...

events

SADC Ministerial Conference
20/05/2008
The SADC Marine Fisheries Ministerial Conference to Stop Illegal Fishing will take place over three days in Windhoek, Namibia 20-22 May 2008. The conf

links

Institute for Security Studies (ISS), South Africa
The ISS is a regional research institute operating across sub-Saharan Africa, focussing on issues affecting human security and development. The ISS has published a number of documents relating to fisheries.

Please click here to notify us if this link is broken

Sharklife
Sharklife is a registered non-profit organisation, which addresses the alarming exploitation of both shark populations and ocean fisheries in South African waters. The organisation actively engage the urgent need for research and protection of many marine species.

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South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
The link takes you to the fisheries section of the site.

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South African Marine Predator Lab (SAMPLA)
The South African Marine Predator Lab is a multidisciplinary institute, dedicated to exploring, discovering, understanding and conserving Africas marine predators. SAMPLA aims to produce world class research discoveries that will create awareness of the need to understand and conserve the marine predators and ecosystems of the world.

Please click here to notify us if this link is broken

Southern Africa Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI)
SASSI was set up in November 2004 to inform and educate all participants in the seafood trade, from wholesalers to restaurateurs through to seafood lovers. SASSI's main objectives are to:

- Promote voluntary compliance of the law through education and awareness.
- Shift consumer demand away from over-exploited species to more sustainable options.
- Create awareness on marine conservation issues.

Please click here to notify us if this link is broken

Stop Illegal fishing
The commitment to stop illegal fishing already exists in Southern Africa. Countries, organisations and individuals are fighting illegal fishing on a daily basis. The Stop Illegal Fishing programme brings new international support to this fight. The Programme aims to facilitate a coherent regional commitment to tackling illegal fishing between the SADC coastal Member States of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania.

Please click here to notify us if this link is broken

news

presentations

IUU Fishing - An Industry Perspective
01/04/2008

Author:
Richard Ball, Pioneer Fishing (Pty) Ltd, South Africa

The Billion Dollar Question: Stopping Illegal Fishing in Southern Africa
01/04/2008

Author:
Per Erik Bergh, Sandy Davies & Sally Frankcom, SADC/Namibia Programme

Tackling the Abalone Syndicates: Can Trade Related Measures and Trade Monitoring Help to Address the Illegal Trade in South African Abalone?
31/03/2008

Author:
Markus Burgener, TRAFFIC

profiles

Peter Eade
I can help to design and provide Monitoring Control and Surveillance solutions (including VMS) for Fisheries Authorities worlwide. ...

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