Need to consider environment too

APROMINENT scientist from Sweden urges the powers-that-be to look deeper than just dollars when it comes to planning marine development, and this is advice that a coastal and harbour city such as Nelson Mandela Bay would do well to follow.

The Herald reported yesterday on the visit to Port Elizabeth by Professor Mats Lindegarth, who has been involved in Sweden’s recent drive for “blue growth”.

Our city is home to beautiful beaches and two flourishing ports, with Ngqura in particular having seen huge investment, followed by impressive growth in recent years.

Given that the country has 3 000km of coastline, much has been made of South Africa’s enormous potential for tapping into the “blue economy” – in short, the use of ocean resources for economic growth and job creation.

It’s a phrase most of us first started hearing about three years ago, when President Jacob Zuma launched Operation Phakisa as part of a government plan to begin unlocking the vast economic potential of our oceans, among other objectives.

The government got very excited about the potential of aquaculture in particular and, as we know, the fish farm project mooted by the Department of Forestry and Fisheries for Algoa Bay is still on the cards.

The department initially proposed the location of the fish farm off Hobie Beach but, after a public outcry about the site’s tourism and watersports value, the focus has moved to the eastern side of the bay.

One must note at this point that a vital aspect of the blue economy model is that activities associated with it must be sustainable while also safeguarding the health of marine ecosystems.

Regardless of where the fish farm is built it will have an impact and, as Lindegarth points out, protection of the Bay’s ecosystem is key.

Marine spatial planning is important to show conflicts and consequences, he says.

Lindegarth was brought here by the NMMU, which is encouraging and a step in the right direction.

So too is the Bay’s hosting last week of the inaugural African Maritime Waste Conference.

It is vital for our city’s decision-makers to learn from other countries’ mistakes before we irrevocably harm our precious ecosystems, to the detriment of the next generation.