Going fishing is no longer about just unhitching your boat from your trailer and sailing into the sunrise. Nowadays there are all sorts of things to consider, least of all that you have to have a right to take any fish anyway, assuming there are any to take! Which is why in the past two months it has been so interesting watching with the help of the main stream media and by talking to people, how the allocation of long term commercial rights is panning out. Appeals, strike action, no fish, day to day company sagas, lobster walkouts and electricity cuts have all added spice to the mix of issues abounding the commercial fishing industry.
This issue reflects all this. There's ministerial response, Monde Mayikiso of MCM has his say, the fishermen in Kalk Bay voice their concerns and the various sector associations react positively and negatively.
Big business is also starting to rumble. Sea Harvest recently issued a press release that its employees face retrenchment, and companies behind some of the fishing companies are looking at ways about how they too can make changes. No doubt this will reverberate down the line.
Training is vital for upskilling staff and what ever may be it will never go to waste. Curiously, I was told recently by SAMTRA that it is struggling to attract fishing companies to take up the training opportunity offered by the academy and sponsored by the Danish government (see Fishing Industry News SA December 2005 issue). When 80% of the course fee is subsidised, it seems like an offer you can hardly afford to refuse. So then, why? Fortunately though, some men - and women - benefited from other training offered and recently a network of people had the unusual experience of learning from a specialist how to disentangle a whale!
Meanwhile SAMSA claims that vessels prepared for survey and what appears on the day of the survey, is not how the vessel is operated and maintained during the period of validity of a safety certificate. Keep in mind that safety training and awareness is not only for those disastrous moments 'that won't happen to me.' It becomes a pointless exercise if all you have learnt is going to be disregarded when you are at sea.
Our engine feature should be of interest to readers because it is written by somebody very much in the know who prefers to stay incognito at this stage. Rest assured he was asked to be as objective as possible, he has done a lot of homework, spoken to many people, and he hopes you too will learn from his experience.
Finally, with all the relevant government departments having agreed there should be one policy for the Aquaculture industry, more and more people are starting to show an interest in fish farming. In this issue we look at the possibility of cultivating sturgeon in South Africa. It’s a contentious topic so I would be interested to know what you think.
 

Editor

Cover Story

This photograph was taken some time ago while visiting the historic Kalk Bay harbour. To the visitor it is not only picturesque but also interesting because there is so much activity.
This is tainted though by an undertone of discontent. The fishermen frequenting the harbour are feeling displaced by the allocation of long term rights. They are traditional line fishers they say, coming from families that have been fishing for centuries.
Some of them are now not allowed to fish and efforts to find out why have fallen on deaf ears. In a open letter to the Minister (see page 6) they are hoping their pleas will be heard.