People, purses and power: developing fisheries policy for the new South Africa

Abstract

At present, arising in part from the former policy of apartheid, many of the major fisheries in South Africa are in the hands of a limited number of quota holders, dominated by the white sector of the population. Several of the major stocks are either in a productive state or are recovering, under biologically conservative management, from earlier depletions. At the same time, with the democratization of South Africa, the current access rights system is being challenged by many who had previously been excluded from access. The policy makers are faced with the task of introducing a fair, equitable and widely accepted system of user rights to a mature fishery, while taking cognizance of the important social and economic role of the existing industry and without overexploiting the marine resources.

The search for suitable approaches has highlighted some of the strengths and weaknesses of existing South African approaches to fisheries management. Analysis of these features, and consideration of future approaches, has relevance to fisheries management in many areas elsewhere in the world.

This analysis suggests that far greater emphasis than in the past needs to be placed on rigorous analysis of the social and economic dynamics of fisheries, and incorporation of the results from this analysis into management procedures and approaches. This will inevitably also require greater participation by users in the management of fisheries. It is suggested that similar changes are happening, and need to be encouraged, in other fisheries around the world. Developing the capacity for adequate consultation, co-management and human-orientated research in fisheries management agencies will generally require substantial restructuring. Of overriding importance is that this restructuring must be accompanied by the political will to ensure that only sustainable utilization is performed.