At the end of April 2017, the National Government Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced that only 75 of the previous 800 established fishing rights holders would be allocated fishing rights for West Coast Rock Lobster (WCRL) in South Africa.
Effectively, the Department has rendered these fishermen jobless. This is the mark of an extremely uncaring ANC government.
Worse yet is the Department’s refusal to provide reasons for why fishing rights applications have been denied.
The DA will therefore submit an application, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), for the score sheets and any other data used by the Department to allocate Fishing Rights.
We will also write to the Chairperson of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Portfolio Committee, Machwene Semenya, to call a meeting of the committee to allow Parliament to get to the bottom of how the fishing licenses were allocated in a way that denies 725 lobster fishers their livelihoods.
The outcomes of the application process has been nothing short of devastating for the majority of WCRL fishermen and their families who have held these rights for at least thirteen years. The lives of thousands of fishers and their families are depending on government to allow them to continue their trade.
The fishers who have been denied their long-standing licenses are entitled to an administrative appeal under the Marine Living Resources Act or to prepare an urgent court application, but the applicants require the following documents which they are being denied by the Department:
• A letter addressed to the applicant, informing him/her of the actual reasons for the decision;
• A copy of the score sheet for a particular application and all other evaluation records used to score the application;
• Copies of the score sheets and evaluation sheets for every other applicant in that fishery – for both, the right holder and new entrant applicants;
• The General Published Reasons; and
• Complete lists of successful applicants, together with the names and registration numbers of their nominated fishing vessels and crew allocations.
The refusal to publicise this information brings into question the lawfulness of the processes followed in allocating these rights.
The DA supports the notion that every person who fulfils the criteria should be awarded fishing rights as soon as possible. We also support sustainable, responsible and scientifically based rights allocations. But until such time as the Department comes clean, fishers simply do not know what is costing them their livelihood.
The DA believes that if a fisher has had rights and has used them responsibly by giving in catch data, building a market and paying fees and taxes, there is a legitimate expectation to have the right renewed the following year.
As such, we fully support the community’s decision to pursue an urgent application interdicting the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Senzeni Zokwana, to set the process aside to stop them continuing with allocating the other reserved rights and to allow them fishing rights on an interim basis until the appeals process is finished.
The DA will fight for the community’s jobs where it is clear the uncaring ANC government will not.
We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that this matter is resolved as a matter of urgency so that the livelihoods of fishing communities are protected.