Cape Town - Bad weather in the Western Cape this month has led to a short extension of the nearshore West Coast rock lobster fishing season.
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy asked the deputy director-general responsible for fisheries management, Sue Middelton, to grant an extension until Friday.
The season opened on December 16, 2023 and closed on April 1, 2024.
Creecy said small-scale fishing co-operatives had asked her for an extension.
“I received a number of urgent verbal and written requests from the small-scale fishing co-operatives that were particularly hard hit by the extreme weather conditions, preventing them from catching their full allocations,” Creecy said.
Her special request was welcomed by the Masifundise Development Trust, which advocates for social, economic, climate, and environmental justice for small-scale fishing communities.
Masifundise programme manager Carmen Mannarino said they understood that the concession was informed by the recent storms and bad weather that had had an impact on the number of fishing days available.
“The impact of climate change on coastal communities is deep, as weather patterns become more volatile and weather events become more dramatic,” she said.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment lowered the total allowable catch for the 2023/24 season by 16.43% from the previous fishing season in response to a Western Cape High Court ruling in September 2018.
Mannarino said there was a need to revisit current fishing season dates as the weather and sea conditions changed.
“Co-management with local fishing communities would allow for more flexibility based on the local needs and ecosystems,” she said. “Another issue that should have been considered in the issuing of the extension is the fact that small-scale fishers have received their permits much later than when the season started.”
Fishers in Northern Cape and Western Cape waited for weeks after the season opened on October 15 and November 15 respectively, which impacted the capacity of small-scale fishers to use their permits.
West Coast crayfish recreational permit holder Keith Blake said recreational fishers should have received an extension as well because they had not used their quota.
“Give us also a couple of days then we know it’s fair. We are really in favour of the people who have got those small co-ops to put the food on the table because work is scarce and they were denied because of the storm. But what about the recreational fishermen?” Blake said.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za
Cape Argus