into the big blue
● Saimi working to buoy oceans economy drive with science and skills
UP FOR A CHALLENGE: Intrepid adventure swimmer Kyle Main will take on a marathon 50km swim from the west to the south coast of Mauritius later in December. He is seen here during an epic swim of 38km in the Andaman Sea off Thailand in 2017.
If SA’s oceans economy is going to grow it needs to increase awareness of the sector and include as wide a variety of role players as possible.
With that strategy in mind, the South African International Maritime Institute (Saimi) has made a captain’s call for all interested parties to get involved.
That means state or private entities geared around any maritime activities, the institute’s CEO, Odwa Mtati, said on Wednesday.
These could include transport and trade, fishing, security, boat building, sailing and diving, crewing, sea rescue, tourism, conservation, research, gas and oil exploration and any activity in-between, he said.
“Proposals will be considered for funding and/or other support or partnerships with an overall view to promoting awareness and appreciation of the maritime environment and economy.
“Proposals should focus on skills development and capacity building for participation in the maritime economy and maritime careers, or they can focus on participation in ocean-based sports and recreation, cultural/community development or coastal/marine conservation.”
The call was integral to the diversification, co-ordination and support approach of the institute, which was funded by the National Skills Fund, Mtati said.
“Government’s Operation Phakisa wants the oceans economy to create one-million new jobs and R177bn of fresh revenue to be added to the GDP by 2023.
“Our job is to support that drive by government by focusing on the development of skills, and by bringing science to policy through innovation and research.”
On another front, the institute, which is based at the NMU Ocean Sciences Campus, was working with state colleges around the country to boost their programmes focusing on the needs of the oceans economy, he said.
“For instance, there is a welding course at the East Cape Midlands Technical and Vocational Education and Training College in Uitenhage but they weren’t doing anything with underwater welding. So we’re working to help them to add that aspect.”
Some ocean activities were illegal, such as perlemoen poaching, long a staple of the Eastern Cape coast, and the incursion of foreign fishing trawlers into SA waters, he noted.
The institute would be working with NMU-based FishForce and the state enforcement bodies to boost their work by helping to improve and expand surveillance and crackdown operations.
Related to the skills focus, Bay-based economist Derek Zimmerman, tasked to undertake an assessment of the situation, recently identified a key area of importance.
Speaking at a maritime conference in Durban, Zimmerman said there was a nett gap of 3,786 graduates needed a year despite an oversupply in certain sectors.
“In particular there is an undersupply on the more technical skills side including the trade and professional categories.”
Mtati — who helped establish Saimi in 2014, and who was previously a financial consultant and former CEO of the then Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry – said their focus on aquaculture had, for example, revealed a shortage of specialist veterinarians.
“Up until now the skills in this area have been sourced from Scotland.
“We want to move away as much as possible from importing experts and rather to employ our own people, so we are working to rectify that situation.”
This meant engaging with universities and formulation of a suitable curriculum developed in conjunction with the aquaculture industry.
On the innovation front, he said, the institute was working on various projects including underwater gliders and a new app that would link fishermen to restaurants with information about the catch, on one hand, and a taste description from diners on the other.
The skills development and capacity-building tender call proposals should be deposited in a sealed envelope in The Tender Box at the Nelson Mandela University Procurement Office: Building 15, South Campus, before December 17.