Millions on line in fish quotas fight

Some investors are risking up to R32 million in efforts to secure a share of South Africa's new long-term fishing quotas, conservatively worth R70 billion over the next 15 years.

The investors are backing scores of applicants who are each paying application fees of R32 000 for the right to catch lucrative species such as deep-sea hake, horse mackerel and Patagonian toothfish.

The investors are prepared to put in such large amounts of venture capital because, if their applicants are successful, they will be allowed to fish these species for up to 15 years, making the financial risk of the big investment in boats and equipment worthwhile.

The investment rush was revealed yesterday during a media briefing by Horst Kleinschmidt, former deputy director-general of the Environmental Affairs and Tourism Department. He now manages the department's rights allocation unit which is overseeing the awarding of long-term quotas.

At stake are four series of quotas, known as A, B, C and D. The deadline for cluster A has gone, and for cluster C it is 5pm today.

Cluster A quotas include commercially valuable species such as deep-sea trawled hake, hake caught on long-lines, and pole-caught tuna.

And desperate fishermen who missed the strict cluster A deadline are planning to mount a High Court challenge if the Department of Environmental Affairs turns down a plea to allow late applications.


But the department's Monde Mayekiso, who awards the cluster A quotas, is in a Catch-22 bind, because fishermen who got their applications in on time have warned they will sue if he allows the late applications.

Today is the deadline for the submission of applications for "cluster C" quotas for hake caught on hand-lines and for inshore West Coast rock lobster.

Fishermen have been pouring into 10 venues around the coast to lodge applications.

Officials said the process was going smoothly.

The doors at all 10 venues would close promptly at 5pm today, and no late applications would be allowed, they said.

The new system involves the awarding of long-term fishing quotas for periods of between eight and 15 years - a radical departure from the previous system of one-year quotas.

The big capital-intensive operations, such as deep-sea trawling for hake or long-lining for Patagonian toothfish, are in cluster A and the cheapest fisheries, including oysters, white mussels and small-scale net fishing, make up cluster D, for artisanal fishermen.

Application fees range from R32 000 for the right to a hake trawl to just R100 for an oyster application in cluster D.

All the rights should be awarded by next February.

Source: www.capeargus.co.za