Members of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries;
Acting Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF);
Captains of industry;
DDGs of DAFF, DAFF colleagues;
Guests;
Interns; and invited youth.
Having experienced such cold weather recently in the Cape, I thought an escape to Johannesburg would work, only to get there to find weather conditions even worse! For this, I should alert you that the oceans play a major role in shaping the climate; even areas hundreds of kilometres away from the coastline (like Johannesburg) are still largely influenced by the oceans.
Thank you for having me at this auspicious event. As many of you will be aware, June is set aside as a month for the youth. Many of us here have long passed our youthful days, however, for those who are still 35 and under, happy Youth Month!
Youth Month was born out of events that tore our country apart and exposed the brutality of apartheid for what it was. When students in Soweto took to the streets to demand that they should not be forced to learn in Afrikaans, the government of the time reacted in the most brutal of ways. Today, we stand united as South Africans, commemorating the sacrifices that these young students made for a better country. I think it is befitting that we encourage the young people present here today to always remember that our freedom came at a blood-shed price.
Today, we are brought together by World Oceans Day. The day is the official United Nation’s designated international day of celebrating the oceans. On 8 June each year, we celebrate the ocean, its importance in our lives and remembering how we can protect it.
ust to give you a few facts: Our planet comprises 71% of oceans. It is the most important life-support system on earth, and almost all humans on Earth depend on the sea’s natural resources. Half of the world’s population lives with 200 km of the coastline. Oceans produce 50% of the oxygen necessary for human survival and therefore, the sustainable use and management of the oceans, even its resources, is critical to us today and for future generations.
With growing dependence on natural resources, we have to ask ourselves a question: How can we forge an economically viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible vision for the use of the ocean’s natural resources without compromising those of future generations?
Ladies and gentlemen, let us look at the status of fisheries globally and locally. Fish supply the greatest percentage of the world's protein consumed by humans, making the oceans critical to food security. We know that achieving food security in its totality continues to be a challenge for the entire world and, in particular, for the developing nations when you consider the proportion of the population affected. According to the FAO, most of the world's major fisheries are being fished at levels above their maximum sustainable level with a number of fish stocks completely depleted.
While overfishing and destructive fishing practices are threatening important marine resources, in particular in the case of South Africa, most of the coastal communities have been marginalised for many years and denied access to the fish resources, which resulted to compromised fishing livelihoods and economic viabilities.
Worldwide fish stocks are showing signs of dramatic decline. South Africa is not unique in its challenges. However, careful thought and consideration has to be exercised while we say fish stocks are declining.
This brings me to government’s efforts in the implementation of the Small -scale Fisheries Policy, which has taken too long to see the light of the day. The policy seeks to redress the matter I have already spoken of and my message is that some give and take will be necessary to ensure that there is an equitable sharing of what is available in the oceans.
One of the biggest challenges that we face in South Africa today is striking a balance between meeting the food security needs of our people while at same time ensuring that the resources they depend on are managed sustainably.
We also have to increase our efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing which are serious crimes because they also cause a huge threat to the collapse of our resources.
Ladies and gentlemen, South Africa is bordered by three major oceanic systems: The Atlantic, Indian and Southern oceans. Marine scientists agree that the entire South African coast from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the richest, supporting many and differing marine life forms on earth.
This will all mean less if we do not invest in the youth and teach them about the oceans so they can better utilise the opportunities presented by our strategic location. There is no better investment than ensuring that knowledge and skills are passed on to the younger generation.
Democracy presented us with the opportunity to broaden access to our country’s oceans’ opportunities. The President launched Operation Phakisa, which is basically about unlocking the economic potential of our three oceans, opening the door for South Africans from all walks of life to explore the wonders of our oceans. DAFF is the lead department on aquaculture in this endeavour. This therefore calls for intensified and meaningful interventions in making sure that we channel the youth to become interested in the oceans, generally and in fisheries, in particular.
With our wealth of diversity and such vast, unexplored oceans right here on our doorstep, the current and new generation of marine, fisheries and ocean scientists have to be encouraged and supported to discover and explore the opportunities of the marine environment to meet the challenges of food security, poverty and unemployment.
Ladies and gentlemen, our oceanic environment holds solutions to our current challenges, and the driver has to be our youth, the aspirants of today, and the global leaders of tomorrow. Let us make sure not to deny them the opportunity.
Status of marine fisheries resources
The Status of the South African marine fisheries resources is a biannual publication that presents and summarises the current status of South Africa’s fisheries resources. This report presents the most recent information and analyses of the status of the marine living resources in 17 fisheries sectors of South Africa.
The research and scientific assessments of the fish stocks form part of an important suite of valuable indicators directing the overall management system of the country’s marine resources.
I am informed that South Africa has a long history of excellence in marine science, including in research and applied research relating to the management of marine living resources.
While we pride ourselves in this excellence of science, we are concerned about the ageing research staff and overreliance by the department on consultants in doing this work. Urgent attention and action in this matter are needed.
While research alone cannot prevent stocks from crashing, it remains one of the key components of the overall management system, which includes resource management and monitoring, control and surveillance.
Vessels
We are celebrating World Oceans Day with the Sarah Baartman, our fisheries protection vessel, shielding us from the one side of the jetty as she has recently returned from her latest patrol voyage during April and May.
A successful trip, as numerous inspections at sea were conducted, in partnership with the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) National Intelligence Unit (NIU).
She will be off on-course later today in continuing her role as a vanguard against illegal fisheries activities and poaching.
The research vessel, Ellen Khuzwayo is at sea doing important research work (and some of our younger scientists are on board as part of that scientific operation).The Africana is also at quay 500, where the final repair works are being done. She is due to sail soon.
It is pleasing to see that ALL our vessels, except one, are fully functional. The self- appointed prophets of doom were wrong when they said the state is not capable of managing these vessels. See for yourself today—this government is capable and will always be.
Youth Month
Government has declared 16 June as National Youth Day and June as Youth Month. This year we are celebrating the National Youth Day and Youth Month under the theme: “Youth moving South Africa forward”.
In partnership with Santos, the people’s team, which has now become a food security ambassador, we are encouraging young people to join our efforts to “kick off for food security” and take up careers in the sector.
We know and have seen how soccer can bring people together and we believe through such a sport, young people can be mobilised to become active participants in the sector and this challenge to address food insecurity.
With the country’s youth unemployment figure increasing at an alarming rate, the South African government has committed to invest in its youth for socio-economic transformation.
Unemployment among young South Africans has risen significantly over the past six years, Statistics SA has shown. South Africa has the third highest unemployment rate in the world for people between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risk report.
We, therefore, have an obligation to activate our young people into the economic field. We owe our democracy to those who fought so hard, the likes of Hector Petersen and the thousands of youth who gave so much, including their lives, so that others can enjoy this freedom we all have today… We owe our youth that….
Thank you
