The threat of mining, conservation efforts, and bureaucratic problems were highlighted in the latest report by the Masifundise Development Trust as part of South Africa’s fishing communities’ struggles to survive.
“This is a reflection of three years of hard work,” Masifundise’s director, Naseegh Jaffer, said at the launch of the report on Wednesday. “It is not something that we did quickly. It is substantive and significant. A lot of fieldwork went into this.”
Jaffer said the United Nation’s Committee on Fisheries adopted guidelines for the protection of fishing communities as far back as 2014.
“Our government was present when the guidelines were adopted. They supported it. The content of these guidelines is not new to the South African government. But there is a serious lack of commitment to implement the guidelines. The small-scale fishing policy was adopted at more or less the same time. There is no way that the Department or government can claim a lack of understanding or ignorance. There is a lack of will to implement.”
He said some of the barriers faced by communities are from nature conservation, who are putting tourism first.
“The people who have been there for generations are not included in their programmes. Their priority is not people. It is conservation. But conservation must go with communities,” he said.
“These are not communities that will strip the sea or other resources.”
He said Masifundise would actively monitor the implementation of the guidelines to make sure that these communities are given access to the waters in which they’ve been fishing for years.
“This report won’t be the last word. Fishing is an intrinsic part of how fishing communities provide for themselves. The moment this gets commercialised, this self-provision will fail.
“We cannot allow that to happen. Many of our coastal communities are poor. They can’t go and buy fish at the shop. They harvest from the ocean or the lake, and that is their food. It makes them less dependent on grants and handouts. It protects their dignity,” he said.
“Nothing the small-scale fishing communities does is detrimental to the environment or the fishing stocks. In fact, this is a good example of community-driven food processes,” he added.
“Although the communities in three provinces (Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and KZN) have been grouped into cooperatives and received their rights and ‘quota’ allocation, there has been minimal support for the continuity, longevity, and success of these cooperatives. The cooperatives have been set up for failure by the State,” the report further warns.
The report also highlights that inland small-scale fishers are still existing in a “legislative vacuum” with no legislation or policy to guide the management or governance of freshwater resources.