As the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, I welcome the increase of the Southern Bluefin Tuna allocation for South Africa by the Commission for Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) during its 23rd annual Extended Commission meeting in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Following deliberations and negotiations based on the proposal submitted by our Fisheries Deputy Director General, Siphokazi Ndudane to the meeting of the commission, members of the CCSBT agreed to increase our allocation from the current 150 tons to 423 tons. During the same meeting, which was our first meeting as a member of the CCSBT Extended Commission, Japan committed itself to transfer 27 tons of its allocation to South Africa, which is added to South Africa’s Southern Bluefin Tuna tonnage for the 2018-2020 fishing seasons.
The CCSBT's objective is to ensure, through appropriate management, the conservation and optimum utilisation of the Southern Bluefin Tuna as well as determining the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and issuing of country quotas.
CCSBT’s Scientific Committee recommended a global increase of 3000 tons for the 2018-2020 fishing seasons to be shared amongst the member states, non-members and for research related activities.
South Africa has been a cooperating non-contracting party member to the CCSBT until the 3rd of September 2015 when the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa approved South Africa’s accession to the CCSBT, joining member states like Australia, the European Union, the Fishing Entity of Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.
As the department we are currently busy with the allocation of new fishing rights in the Tuna Longline fishing and we have intention to grow the sector as it has a massive potential to address our Government’s key strategic objectives of alleviating poverty and creating jobs through allocation of sizeable and viable total allowable catch.
Through these rights, we want to bring in more black people, youth and women residing in the fishing communities to benefit from this industry as part of transforming the entire fishing industry.
The allocation increase is essential to South Africa’s job creation as it will provide permanent employment in the sector and will inject the much needed export revenue for our country. It is estimated that the 450 tons increase could be worth about R270 million, depending on the foreign exchange rate, could create about 1000 or more jobs for the unemployed.
This allocation increase is a strategic opportunity for our country as it is essential to stimulate development of the domestic tuna longline fishery as this will create a large incentive for foreign vessels to reflag to South Africa and for foreign vessel owners to invest in South Africa.
For further media enquiries contact:
Bomikazi Molapo
Minister’s spokesperson
Cell: 079 698 2114
BomikaziM@daff.gov.za
