From a reporter's perspective there are two kinds of interviewees: those people that are willing to put themselves on the line and speak freely and independently no matter how they are quoted in the press; and those that group themselves with others and scatter like a startled shoal of sardines under attack by predators.

A case in point was the reaction to an article in the August issue concerning the state of marine science. As has happened previously, we were promised several written responses - needless to say we are still waiting!

The point is to encourage debate which is what we hope the second article "A reflection on fisheries management" will do (we remind you Horst Kleinschmidt is now independent of the fisheries management).

Likewise, we hope the article which updates subscribers about the proposed South Coast gas development and its impact on trawling activity will be a stimulating read. Did you know there were only five responses to the Draft Scoping Report and none of them were from the fishing industry?

There is a lot of good work being done by WWF who tied up with Sanlam recently in a partnership that will nurture environmental sustainability. It is not an exclusive arrangement; it is the responsibility of us all to make sure we have something to pass on to future generations.

Sustainability of the fishing industry also lies with education. Three Southern Sea Fishing employees recently received certificates in First Line Production Management Learnership at NQF Level 5. They have every reason to be proud of themselves because qualifications at this level are quite scarce.

There have been some new developments recently such as the appointments to the SAMSA Board including that of Lance Manala as chairperson (he is also CEO of Marine Crew Services); the establishment of a Statutory Council for the Squid and Related Fisheries of South Africa (more about this in the next issue) and the appointment of Captain Nigel Campbell as the chairman of the IMO Drafting Group on Safety of Small Fishing Vessels. New international standards for small fishing vessels are on the way and it is a feather in our South African cap that Nigel will be guiding the process. We congratulate him on his appointment.

To conclude, in this issue we have wide advertising support from our clients in the fishing and affiliated industries that will be displaying their range of products at Fish and Aquaculture Africa 2005, or at least will be present there. We thank you, wish you well and ask that you please come and visit us at our stand.