Overberg Angling

STATEMENT BY GARETH MORGAN, MP
DA SHADOW MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
6 SEPTEMBER 2009

Marine & Coastal Management runs out of cash: must appear before Parliament

Release: immediate

Marine and Coastal Management (MCM), the government entity entrusted with managing fisheries in South Africa has apparently run out of money to fund research cruises.

Rumours in this regard had been doing the rounds for the last two weeks, which led to the DA submitting a parliamentary question last week seeking to confirm the situation. An article in the Argus on 4 September now confirms that MCM’s research vessels are tied up in port unable to conduct the critical scientific surveys necessary to determine the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for individual fisheries. This is a serious situation that will almost certainly undermine the ability of rights holders to maximise their catches in the future.

The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Buyelwa Sonjica, and the Deputy Director-General of MCM, Dr Monde Mayekiso, must urgently appear before the portfolio committee in Parliament to explain how this situation came about and what steps have been taken to rectify it. I have in this regard written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Water and Environmental Affairs to request that she urgently places this matter on the agenda of the committee.

Research by South African scientists into the state of our fisheries is world renowned, with some fisheries having had unbroken research surveys conducted on them for the last thirty years. The current situation, which besides having dire consequences for fisheries management in South Africa, will weaken the morale of many scientists who already work under difficult circumstances. In recent years the country has lost many scientists to Australia and New Zealand, and more will follow if they are not able to effectively do their jobs.

There are a number of possible consequences of not conducting further surveys during this financial year. Cancellation of the pelagic surveys for later this year means that there will be no basis to set the sardine and anchovy TACs for 2010. This means that any TACs that are awarded in these fisheries next year will have to be substantially reduced in terms of the precautionary principle, as there will be an absence of important information needed to make an informed decision. Participants in these fisheries could lose millions of rands in fish that are not caught that would otherwise have been caught had there been the survey data. The loss of revenue will be nothing compared to the cost of the surveys.

Further, with regard to the hake fishery, for which there will be no September survey, there may be consequences down the line for its continued certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Hake is by far the most valuable fish resource in South Africa, and its privileged certification by the MSC sustains high demand for the product from import markets in Europe, Australia and the USA. The MSC certification is based primarily on ensuring a sustainable fish stock and effective management. This certainly implies that reliable data on the fishery is continually forthcoming.

Marine and Coastal Management appears to lurch from one problem to another. This is a sick organisation that needs urgent attention from the minister. While it should be maximising opportunities for wealth and job creation in a sustainable way, so many of its management decisions appear to do the exact opposite.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Gareth Morgan MP - 072 528 3910
Jo Lennox – 082 780 0242