MAVERICK CITIZEN: Fishing for new futures: Making space for marginalised small-scale fishers

For more than two decades, many local small-scale fishers have been living off dry bread and empty promises that social justice and economic benefits will flow their way.Although some traditional fishers did obtain fishing rights in, for instance, the nearshore commercial lobster and traditional line-fish sectors, most have not benefited so far — with the exception of those fortunate to qualify for annual interim relief permits.

Locally, small-scale fishers also play a vital role in household food security and poverty alleviation. Most of these fishers, however, operate on the fringes of the value and supply chain.Small-scale fishers are affected by years of exclusion, the over-exploitation of nearshore resources by different sectors over the decades, climate change and the impacts of uncontrolled poaching,” says Dr Kevern Cochrane, a fisheries expert affiliated with Rhodes University.

Studies show that small-scale fishers have limited visibility and recognition in the market. This is because the real margins are made higher up in the fisheries supply chain.

Marketing arrangements also tend to favour the interest of the buyer and often overpower efforts to quell consumer demand. This means that even conscious decisions by informed consumers could have unintended adverse consequences. Rosie Soshola, a traditional fisherwoman from the West Coast, cleans and sells fish to her local community and restaurants.

According to the policy, small-scale fishing rights will be allocated to groups of recognised fishers — primary fishing co-operatives based in coastal fishing communities. At the dawn of the implementation of this policy, co-operative registration is underway by the fisheries authority.

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