FISHING WARS
Anglers clash with subsistence fishers but a project may mean sustainable catches for rival groups
FOR more than eight years Elmara Olivier and Thuys “Tastic” Pieters have lived under a tree next to the Orange River, invisible to the world. An empty baby chair hangs like a curse from one of the branches, testimony to their life of deprivation and loss on the platteland south of Kimberley.
Yet the couple have emerged as unlikely champions in a power struggle over the fish they catch to survive — mostly with their bare hands.
Government officials this week tentatively approved a proposed fishing experiment in the vast Vanderkloof Dam — and the stone fishing kraals beneath it — following mounting tension between sport and subsistence fishermen.
The proposal stems from a scientific study that suggests there are enough fish in the dam to support a commercial fishery.
The study has inadvertently exposed deep fault lines underlying the area’s postcard charm. Conflict in an advisory committee set up to drive the project reveals that the tension over fish is rooted in a deeper rift over who should benefit from the country’s resources. Those historically excluded believe they are still getting a raw deal.
Dispute over the Vanderkloof fishing grounds has even prompted angry stand-offs between rod-wielding fishermen in the remote resort town, which is still sharply divided along racial lines.
There have also been violent clashes between groups of subsistence fishermen using the traditional fish kraals, some of which are in restricted government property directly below the dam wall.
Most of the subsistence fishers live a few kilometres from the water in a dirt-poor township behind a koppie, or in nearby towns. They have to walk back and forth. Recreational fishermen live in the historically white-owned streets, close to the water’s edge and to shops, restaurants and the boat club.
Considered one of the best inland fishing locations, the dam is famous for an abundance of the largemouth yellowfish, a prized sport-fishing trophy. The fish has conservation status, and recreational fishermen believe a commercial fishery would further endanger it.
However, the yellowfish are an essential source of protein for impoverished communities, who say they have been fishing where the dam is for hundreds of years without adversely affecting fish populations.
“If I don’t get fish one day then I don’t have money,” said Pieters, who was jailed two years ago for trespassing on state land to get to a fish kraal. “I can’t stay away from the river, because if I stay away then there is no food.”
He said the couple’s dire situation had forced them to put their fouryear-old daughter into foster care. They have since adopted a stray cat, which they call Weggooi (Throwaway).
Qurban Rouhani, director of Rhodes University’s rural fisheries programme, which is implementing the project, said: “The project recognises that there is a need to ensure that all users of the dam should be able to share this resource equitably. By reaching this important milestone it’s a step in reconciling our past and building a future that is equitable.”
Rouhani said another key aim of the project was to help plug a gap in government policy by helping to formulate an inland fisheries policy.
“Historically, small-scale fishers, who generally are poor and disenfranchised, were not recognised by legislation as a legitimate user of our aquatic freshwater resources. This is true in Vanderkloof and the country as a whole.”
The project has also highlighted traditional fishing methods, including stone kraals that trap fish when water recedes. Old Khoisan kraals are evident at several sites across the country. Project stakeholders have agreed that kraal fishermen be given formal recognition through a permit system.
However, Vanderkloof Angling Club secretary Francois “Vis” Fouche believes the project has politicised local fishing. He said recreational fishers believed any experiment would need strict conditions — such as a ban on gill nets.
Fouche said destroying the dam’s fish stocks could ruin the town’s burgeoning tourist industry.
“Already there have been many more people employed in tourism due to the growth in the town than they would create in this whole [fishing] project.”
He said the recent growth was largely due to the “discovery” of the largemouth yellowfish.
“At the end of the day, from the [fishing] club side, if they can prove through the experiment that the project will be sustainable, and that they can manage the different species, then we don’t have a problem with it,” he said.
All sides said this week’s agreement to allow the experiment to run its course was a positive milestone. “We hope that is going to help to bring about the necessary change we need to see,” said Michelle Joshua of fishing rights group Masifundise, which is working with the subsistence fishermen.
Government officials were reluctant to give official comment, but one commended stakeholders for working together — a positive sign of community healing.
The dam is famous for an abundance of the largemouth yellowfish, a prized trophy
Comment on this: write to tellus@sundaytimes.co.za or SMS us at 33971 www.sundaytimes.co.za