It’s just getting worse for small-scale fishers

Social stability is under threat when you attack the dignity of a people

EARLIER this year, 29-year-old Waylon Love from Hawston in the Western Cape, who worked as a subsistence fisherman to support his widowed mother, was killed in a freak accident when a rip tide swallowed him. Waylon was an unemployed man with limited to zero opportunity to access the formal economy. He could not even access his local swimming pool to properly train for his informal trade and instead resorted to murky dam waters to train.

Statistics SA confirms that about 48% of our population between the ages of 15-34 are, officially, unemployed. A large portion of this group probably forms part of the 600 000 people who are dependent on marine resources to earn a basic income. Like Waylon, many of these young people have given up on the formal economy and have ceased job-hunting or choose to explore various entrepreneurial avenues in the informal sector, with limited to zero systemic support.

In 2005 the Equality Court ruled that a new policy be developed to acknowledge the rights of small-scale fishers, which led to the birth of the Small-Scale Fishing Policy which was released by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2012. Subsequent to this victory, the Marine Living Resources Act was amended in 2013 to include small-scale fishers as a formal part of this industry, as well as to include post-harvesting fishing activities as commercial activities that shape the small-scale fishing sector.

However, as with so many government initiatives designed to transform industries and communities on a socio-economic level, the intended outcomes of this policy were derailed by the failure to empower small-scale fishers with the wherewithal to implement the plan.

The implementation of this policy is dependent on the co-operative model, which presupposes that small-scale fishers have the necessary business management skills, literacy skills, access to business capital and social cohesion to make a collective business effort of this nature work with minimal support from government structures.

However, fishing communities are among the most vulnerable members of our society, with minimal access to training and formal education opportunities beyond basic education, and limited to zero access to capital assets for collateral purposes.

These constraints are further exacerbated by the fact that small-scale fishers feel they are getting the very short end of the stick as far as the allocation of fishing rights go. The department has continued to favour medium-to-large-scale fishing companies in terms of commercial fishing rights. In a context of diminishing marine resources, this creates additional anxiety and uncertainty about the practical numbers, in terms of fishing quotas, for small-scale fishers.

In Hangberg the community recently took to the streets in protest to raise awareness of not only the economic barriers to small-scale fishing, but also the devastating ripple effects on their families and society. It is inevitable that the outcomes of this situation manifest in the form of social ills and unrest.

Fishing, as a way of life, is more than just a livelihood to vulnerable coastal communities. It is a core part of their history and identity as a people. It speaks to the sustainable way of life that preceded big industry and capitalist constructs that devoured the agency of people.

By taking away this way of life we also destroy part of a collective identity. And if we have learnt anything from apartheid and colonialism, it is that meddling with the identity of a people means dehumanising them, with devastating consequences for society as a whole.

It is not a coincidence that Cape Town, with its special history, including both colonialist and apartheid legacies, is one of the 10 most violent cities in the world. So, what needs to happen to turn this tide for small-scale fishers?

● The government needs to have a democratic and consultative approach to building our fishing industry, one that is inclusive of the voice, needs and rights of the small-scale fishing community.

● In light of dwindling marine resources, DAFF must re-evaluate the rights allocation to commercial fishing industries in relation to the rights of small-scale fishing communities.

● The DAFF cannot hold the implementation of the SSF Policy on its own. Other government departments like Economic Development, Social Development and other government structures like local government and also civil society must come on board with practical projects to equip small;-scale fishing communities with adequate tools and support to ensure that the co-operative model is viable.

● The implementation of the SSF Policy must be a consultative process with adequate, transparent and appropriate communication with the relevant fishing community. It cannot be undemocratic as a process.

● We need creative entrepreneurial thinking to stimulate the diversification of fishing community economies – beyond fishing as a livelihood.

Coastal communities have a right to survive, economically and otherwise, by accessing their natural assets in a way that allows for holistic sustainability, i.e. the preservation of marine resources and the dignity of a people.

The value of human dignity in our constitution is not only concerned with an individual’s sense of self-worth but constitutes an affirmation of the worth of human beings in our society.

By commercialising this resource through selling it to the highest and biggest bidders, we are denying the rights of small-scale and subsistence fishers, threatening the sustainability of our natural resources and our social stability by attacking a people’s dignity.

IT IS NOT A COINCIDENCE THAT CAPE TOWN, WITH ITS LEGACIES, IS ONE OF THE 10 MOST VIOLENT CITIES IN THE WORLD