The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, in consultation with the relevant officials, has requested the Deputy Director-General responsible for Fisheries Management, Ms Sue Middelton, to grant a short extension of the Nearshore West Coast Rock Lobster fishing season from 15 - 19 April 2024.
This extension is in recognition of the extreme adverse weather conditions experienced in the Western Cape over the past week. “I received a number of urgent verbal and written requests from the small-scale fishing cooperatives that were particularly hard hit by the extreme weather conditions, preventing them from catching their full allocations,” said Minister Creecy.
The Public Notice, granting the extension, will be issued by the Department on Friday 12 April 2024 and will be communicated to the Chairpersons of the Western Cape Small-scale cooperatives and the Nearshore Commercial right holders. “It should also be noted that the DDG: Fisheries Management has already granted an exemption to allow for fishing over this coming weekend of 13 and 14 April 2024,” added Minister Creecy.
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