12 December 2006 Media Statement
Forced to defy the system in order to feed their families
On Tuesday 12th December 2006 hundreds of fishers from the West Coast will gather on the beach in Paternoster in order to support those fishers who have been forced to act in defiance of the current fishing rights policy in order to feed their families. These men are all traditional fishers who depend on the sea for their livelihoods. They, together with thousands of other bone fide, traditional fishers have been denied fishing rights by the recently released long term rights policy. As a result they do not have access to the sea or to a means of sustaining their livelihoods. They are facing destitution and are unable to meet their families’ basic needs and put food on the table. These fishers have repeatedly tried to engage Marine and Coastal Management and the Minister concerned, Minister van Schalkwyk, on this issue but with no success. The recently released draft Subsistence and draft Small Scale Commerical Fishing Rights policies do not include west coast rock lobster which has been the back bone of their livelihoods. In this respect the Minister and the Department, has again ignored their pleas for an interim relief measure so that they can put food on their table for Christmas. These fishers now believe that they have no choice other than to act in defiance of current policy and legislation. The fishers have invited Minister van Schalkwyk to come to the beach to meet with them and see how they are trying to put bread on the table and feed their families. They would like the Minister to see the traditional boats and gear that they use so that he can understand the proposals that they have submitted to him and his Department requesting that the Department prioritize the rights and needs of the traditional fishing sector, particularly given its less harmful impact on the marine resources and environment. Naomi Cloete, Chairperson of Coastal Links, a network of community based coastal and fisher organizations (allied to Masifundise) said “The fishers are worried that the new policy is forcing them to become ‘criminals’. On the contrary, she said “We have begged government to introduce a system of co-management of marine resources so that the fishers could share their knowledge of marine life with the authorities and simultaneously use and protect of marine resources for the next generation of fishers”. Naseegh Jaffer, Director of Masifundise, an NGO that works with coastal and fishing communities defended the right of traditional fishers to harvest marine resources for a living. He said: “In coastal communities fishing is a way of making a living and feeding your family. Taking fishing rights away from them is criminal and contrary to the South African Bill of Rights.” Jaffer called on government to bring traditional fishing activities into the legal framework by making proper provision for them. |
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