South Africa: Western Cape small-scale fishers win the long battle for fishing rights

Small-scale fishing rights have been granted for 15 years across the Western Cape after a long battle, the department of forestry, fisheries, and the environment (DFFE) announced on Wednesday 15 November. This means that 62 fishing cooperatives, consisting of 3 850 small-scale fishers, will be set up across the province. The finalisation of small-scale fishing rights has been delayed in the Western Cape for a few years. After several complaints about the 2016-2019 rights allocation process, when only 29% of applicants were granted rights, the DFFE minister Barbara Creecy approached the Western Cape High Court to review the process. The court set the rights allocation process aside in August 2022, and a new process was started soon afterwards. This time around, 93% of applicants were granted small-scale fishing rights. These rights, which are granted only to fishers belonging to co-operatives, include the right to fish for subsistence, to process the fish and to sell it. Before ...