Fish on, Creecy tells thousands of legalised anglers

In a historic move for fishing communities in the province, environment, forestry and fisheries minister Barbara Creecy awarded fishing rights to 4,361 small-scale rural fishermen and women in OR Tambo, Amathole and Alfred Nzo districts on Friday.

A total of 53 co-operatives representing fishers in the three districts were awarded 15-year fishing rights during a ceremony in Mthatha.

Creecy told them they could start extracting East Coast rock lobster, hake, mussels, oysters, squid and sardines.

She also promised to bring vessels to the Eastern Cape to help with deep-sea fishing.

Friday’s handover coincided with the official launch of the province’s oceans economy master plan, a joint effort between provincial government and the Nelson Mandela University.

“We understand that small fishermen and women want to move away from the hand-to-mouth situation and to do that they need our support,” Creecy said, revealing there were 78 fishing co-operatives in the province.

“Today’s group that is being awarded the rights is the largest group of people to ever receive fishing rights in SA.”

Mbizana Small-Scale Fishing Co-Op member Ronaldo Meyer described it as a victorious day for fishing co-ops.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, he said that for a long time communities were hamstrung by state laws in their efforts to sustain themselves and their families.

“We got arrested and had to pay fines. We were limited in what we could fish.”

Meyer said he believed fishing had the power to impact positively on the economy and could play a big role in creating jobs.

He said this was because factories would have to be created to process what co-operatives brought out  from the sea, and fishermen and women would need boats.

Creecy also gave permission to the 53 co-ops to consider abalone farming.

She said those awarded fishing rights would not have to pay a cent when applying for permits for the first three years.

She said small-scale fishing communities had been harassed by government for 150 years as the industry had not been formalised.

But, she said, co-ops would have to indicate whether they were fishing for their families as individuals or for commercial purposes, and that her department was partnering with local municipalities, provincial governments and the national department of small business development to ensure training was provided.

“You need training in business and financial management skills.

“A business needs to keep records and books,” she said.

Members will also be trained in conflict management.

Creecy said the co-ops should help government by not allowing people to fish illegally. Rural development and agrarian reform MEC Nomakhosazana Meth said the province was blessed with an 800km coastline, which could be used to change the lives of people and boost the economy.