Page 14 - South Africa Report

aims to allocate rights. In 1994, fisheries policies were developed for all commercial fishing sectors
resulting in firstly four-year “medium-term” rights issued between 1998-2004 and thereafter long-
term rights for up to 15 years. There is no formal Individual Transferable Quota regime although
fishing rights are transferable by specific application and are handled under the Rights Transfer Policy
developed in 2009.

In view of the high seas, South Africa also applies to fishing permits especially in relation to conservation
Country Profile
measures in CCAMLR and Regional Fisheries Management Orgniasations (RFMOs). South Africa is
party to a number of regional fisheries management organization which include:
• Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR),
• the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT),
The Republic of South Africa
• the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO),
• the Benguela Current FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Commission (BCC),
• the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC),
• the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
• protocol on Fisheries, and the International Whaling Commission (IWC) (15)
• As a non-contracting participating member of the CCSBT and the IOTC.

In recent years, fisheries management and research has seen increasing participation of the fishing
industry and non-government organizations. For example, fishing industry representatives and
scientists actively participate and contribute to the Scientific Working Groups as well as the Resource
Management Working Groups (RMWG) for each of the main fishery sectors.

Research
On-going fisheries research has helped to predict the availability of fish stocks. For example, research
and survey on demersal trawl for hake on both the west and south coasts and two acoustic of
small pelagic species and also independent surveys are carried out that help in the assessment of
commercial fish stock. Other regional research programs include:
• The Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP),
• The Benguela Current Commission, the Agulhas Somali Large Marine Ecosystem project
(ASCLME) and numerous other smaller regional programmes. There are collaborative surveys
and research with the EAF-Nansen programme using the RV Fridtjh of Nansen.
• South Africa has committed to the Implementation of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF)
and has a scientific Ecosystem Working Group contributing to the management of most fisheries.
• In addition, there are independent initiatives by NGOs developing a Responsible Fisheries
Programme (WWF) as well as a strong collaborative approach to this work that includes a
Responsible Fisheries Alliance between major fishing industry players and WWF. Further
supporting the EAF approach has been the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of
the hake trawl fishery, the first “African” fishery to be certified (FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture
Department).

Education and training

South Africa’s management of fisheries has given the disadvantaged an opportunity to develop
skills in the fisheries industry. Training and educating programs aim at development of skills and

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