Viking Fishing faces closing key factory
Company loses court bid to halt the allocation of hake quotas
VIKING Fishing is considering closing its fish processing factory in Mossel Bay with the loss of 179 jobs after it lost its court bid to halt the allocation of hake quotas to small-scale fishers.
The company suffered a blow in its court battle against the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) over fishing rights. This came after a ruling by the Western Cape High Court that the interim interdict previously granted should not be made final. The interdict was initially granted in January by the court. Viking interdicted the department to freeze their decision on hake fishing quotas.
Viking challenged the department’s decision of reducing fishing quotas. The decision meant a reduction in 60% of Vikings fishing quota, specifically for hake and sole.
“We note and recognise the decision by the Western Cape High Court,” Tim Reddell, a representative from Viking, said.
Reddell said Viking was still studying the judgment. “We haven’t digested the judgments properly,” he said.
He also said the judgment raised the question of whether its processing factory shuts its doors or not.
“It’s too early to comment on the loss for the company. It’s a question whether to close down our factory in Mossel Bay or not,” he said.
The court’s decision has been welcomed by the ANC fishing desk. “I think this is the first time in 23 years that we have won a case and this is a step in the right direction,” Harry Mentor from the ANC fishing desk said. He added that the judgment broadens the possibility of transformation in the fishing industry. “I think transformation is great… it will especially get rid of all the corruption in the industry.”
The department initially wanted to give small-scale fishers a chance to reap the benefits. It then allocated new fishing rights. Minister Senzeni Zokwana said last year the department wanted to bring in more black people living on the coastline by allocating the new fishing rights to them.
The department has labelled this as a victory. “This is a victory for both the department and small fishing companies who have been prevented from operating in the sector for the past six months,” the deputy director-general of Fisheries, Siphokazi Ndudane, said. The order made it clear that the entire process was reasonable.
“The court held that the Daff explained fully the entire allocation process and gave reasonable explanations of its attempt to give effect to section 2(j) of the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) as well as the constitution,” Ndudane said.