12 December 2007
Department welcomes the court decision
An urgent court interdict brought against the department yesterday (Tuesday,
11 December 2007) from a splinter group within the South African Abalone
Fishers Association to halt the issuing of abalone permits to commercial
abalone right holders has failed in court yesterday.
The interdict sought that the department halt the issuing of commercial
abalone fishing permits which would effectively prohibit right holders from
fishing, with immediate effect. It further sought to exclude and prevent right
holders from certain turfs to fish in turfs where a total allowable catch (TAC)
has been allocated.
This comes in the midst of the closure of the commercial abalone fishery
which will be implemented from 1 February 2008. The abalone resource is
threatened with extinction and urgent drastic measures are required to prevent
the resource from total collapse. Over the past 10 years the total allowable
catch (TAC) has been reduced annually from 615 tons in 1995 to a record low of
125 tons for the 2006/07 season and an all time emergency low of 75 tons for
the shortened 2007/08 season. The decline of the abalone stocks is as a result
of poaching and ecological changes. In 2003 a moratorium on the recreational
abalone fishery had been placed due to the rapid declining of the resource.
The closure of the commercial fishery is considered as the only viable
option at this stage to provide an opportunity to prevent a total commercial
collapse of this highly valued, almost globally extinct resource.
After Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk
considered pleas from right holders regarding the implementation date of the
closure and following scientific advice, he then decided to delay the
implementation of the closure from 1 November 2007 to 1 February 2008 and to
allocate an emergency TAC of 75 tons for the shortened season.
The department immediately held several consultations with abalone rights
holders including the South African Abalone Fishers Association and Turf
Representatives to decide on the allocation of the 75 tons abalone among right
holders. An Inter Area (turf) Schedule which will allow right holders to
harvest abalone across turfs to access to the resource was agreed upon. Fishing
across turfs has been an agreeable practice within the commercial abalone
fishery since the allocation of long term fishing rights in 2003.
Despite the agreement through consultation an urgent interdict was brought
against the department. Although the interdict was brought under the name of
the South African Abalone Fishers Association, members from the association
have distanced themselves from the action and communicated to the court that
they were not aware of the action and disagree with it as they themselves will
be negatively affected, especially those who are in turfs where no or a very
low TAC has been allocated. They further allege that the division in the
association seem to be based on the areas (turfs) in which right holders reside
and along racial lines.
The department regards this as unfortunate. The department welcomes the
decision of the court.
Contact:
Mava Scott
Cell: 082 411 9821
Carol Moses
Tel: 021 402 3448
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
12 December 2007
