Fishing rights allocations process on track

Image courtesy of Stoonn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The consultative process is in full swing and officially commenced last week as the Draft Revised General Policy on the Allocations and Management of Fishing Rights was released.

According to the department, a meeting was also held with representatives from the fishing sector.

The purpose and objectives of the General policy, together with the Fishery specific policies includes:

• promoting food security and socio-economic development through the sustainable utilization of fisheries resources;
  
• promoting transformation, broaden meaningful participation and growth in the fisheries sector;
  
• supporting and developing regulatory and management mechanisms aimed at promoting sustainable utilization/management of fisheries resources;
  
• achieving the recognition, protection and support of small-scale fishers;
  
• promoting the recognition of the interdependency of the social, cultural, economic and ecological dimensions of small-scale fishery systems;
  
• achieving the incorporation of a community-based rights approach to the allocation of marine living resources; promote the allocation of resources through a multi-species approach;
  
• introducing measures and mechanisms that prioritise the small-scale fisheries sector within the fishing industry;
  
• and introducing mechanisms and structures that promote a community orientation, co-management and community-based approach in the harvesting and management of marine living resources within the small-scale fisheries sector.

The General and Fishery specific policies are informed by government's key policies, namely the National Development Plan (NDP), the Integrated Growth and Development Plan (IGDP) for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, the New Growth Path (NGP), the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) and the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP).

Fishing rights in eight fisheries sectors are expiring in December this year. These sectors are KwaZulu-Natal prawn trawl, demersal shark, squid, tuna pole, hake hand line, white mussels, oysters and traditional line fish.

Call for applications are expected to be gazetted in May this year.