The big story in this issue is about the chaos over the issuing of permits which affected many fishing sectors. The West Coast Rock Lobster sector was the most vocal, concerned mainly about not been able to supply overseas markets at a time when the export price is at a premium.

MCM made a few mistakes. Even in this world of technology everyone knows there is room for error, and MCM's first mistake was not to have a back-up system in place. The second was not to have trained staff working the system. It's not the system that looks the fool, it is the person operating it, in this case seemingly through no fault of their own.

The fact is that it has cost fishing companies money, time, and lost business. Not to mention South Africa's reputation as a reliable provider.

Seething fishermen should not be underestimated. There is a lot of anger being expressed throughout the industry at present. I witnessed this first hand at an AGM I attended in December; a large group of Paternoster fishers defied the law by poaching in broad daylight in full view of the police; 2000 crew members threatened to go on (an illegal) strike; scuba divers are unhappy about having to pay to use the sea… the list goes on and on.

Worst still is that the Minister appears to be doing nothing. Well he will have to react sooner or later, the court case brought by Masifundise Development Organisation (and others) application for fair access to fishing rights and marine resources is due to start shortly, and the Nedlac task team has initiated a long term right review of all species that are accessible to small scale fishermen. The first meeting takes place early in March.

The IMO Secretary General paid a first time visit to South Africa in January and spent some time listening to various presentations relevant to both the fishing and shipping industries. One detailed the research that has been done in coastal communities and how best to re-educate fishers who have been denied a right to fish, before they become a burden to the State. See page 4.

With a commodity that's just disappearing, aquaculture is being viewed as something of a saviour. The FAO considers aquaculture to be one of the fastest growing food-producing sectors presently accounting for almost 50% of the world's food fish, and local companies are waking up to the fact that there is an urgent need for the focused development of this industry. I&J's stance is that the future of the industry lies in the merging of the strengths of business and government.

In conclusion concern for the environment is starting to take hold. There is bountiful documentation about climate change, global warming, and threats to the environment. Developments such as the Alcan smelter at Coega will contribute negatively to the country's carbon footprint - did you know that the Eastern Cape is now being sweet-talked as a "carbon neutral" destination? Wake up and smell the roses, it's Valentine's month afterall!

Editor.

Cover Story

Now that the small pelagic resource has moved to the East Coast, Balobi Processors (Pty) Ltd, a black-owned facility based in Port St Francis is ideally situated to maximise its pilchard catches. During 2006 in excess of 5000mt of pilchard was caught, processed and marketed.

Balobi Processors has invested in excess of R8 million in vessels, blast freezing and flake ice machines in order to catch and process 45 mt of pilchard a day and has spare capacity to assist any right holder with catching, processing and marketing their pilchard quota.
The communities of St Francis Bay and Humansdorp benefit greatly from the jobs created by this productive facility.