Everyone needs to make a buck to survive and this is highlighted throughout this issue of Fishing Industry News SA. The allocation of long term rights is taking its toll. Industrial action is affecting the industry - the pelagic sector, hake sector and squid sector have been, or still are, under pressure as crew members and factory workers fail to arrive for work because they are striking. The President of the Squid and Allied Fishermen Workers Union sums it up: "our members want to make money and owners want to make money, but this is only possible by going to sea."
Boat builders also want to make money. Times are becoming tougher, there are now more boats tied up than there are boat owners allowed to put their vessels to sea which means boat builders have to start looking hard in other directions in order to generate an income.
So it takes some guts to launch a brand new vessel that doesn't even yet have a tuna pole fishing permit. But there's a first time for everything and for this Gansbaai boat builder who had never before built a vessel before taking on this mammoth task, he was lucky to have been able to draw on the experience of his assistant, Toffie Crouch, who did most of the work, and Richard Bertie of Two Oceans Marine who offered some valuable advice. Just in case you are wondering whether this is a state of "ignorance is bliss" there is a Plan B if push turns to shove!
South African and Namibian scientists are now looking at ways the two countries can share in the deep sea hake pie. A stock assessment workshop was held recently and the outcome was that genetic studies of hake should be intensified to try to determine whether the M.Paradoxus is a shared stock, or not. If it is shared, over fishing in one country could affect catches in the other, so it therefore makes sense that the two countries work more closely on the management of valuable fisheries resources such as hake.
A good news story is that of the Folbekkies trout farm on the Graham Beck Wine Estate. It's an aquaculture project run in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch with the aim being to uplift and empower previously disadvantaged rural communities, in this case the farm workers who work the cages after hours only. Work on the production facility began in 2005 and that year the farm produced more than 12000 tons of trout and a net profit of R88 000.
Concluding, the South African fishing industry should take heart that it is not the only country where the fisheries is struggling. For different reasons Mozambique's fishing industry is in a much worse state which we report on in our Fish Processing section on page 16.
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Editor

Cover Story

First time visitors to Gansbaai are surprised by how big the town is. The harbour is evidence that it was founded on the fishing industry and although it appears to be quiet, it can also get quite busy. Recently, the only boat builder in the vicinity launched his first vessel into the water. The event was well supported by the community who arrived to witness this historic event and to lend their support to the Nowers family who have made this significant investment without the guarantee of a long term fishing right. See page 27 for the full story.

Photograph: A. Burt