Cape Town - Despite South Africa’s progressive laws and policies, as well as its international human rights obligations enshrined in various international legal instruments relevant to small-scale fisheries, the reality for small-scale fishers’ on the ground is riddled with challenges.
This is according to the “Turning the Tide Towards the Realisation of Small-Scale Fishing Rights: Monitoring the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on Small-scale fisheries in South Africa” report launched on Wednesday, developed by the Masifundise Development Trust in collaboration with Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN) international.
This is the culmination of three years of Participatory Action Research in seven small-scale fishing communities in South Africa and contains the key challenges faced by South Africa's coastal and inland fishing communities in realising their human rights.
The report explains that historically, men, women, and children have harvested a wide range of marine resources for their basic sustenance and livelihood all along the South African Coastline.
“An enduring challenge is that of historical and continuous ocean and land grabbing in the name of economic development and growth, often framed as being in the interest of the people, and as a means to address various socio ecological concerns.
“However, more often than not, it encroaches on peoples’ natural resources and territories and results in human rights violations of local people who are dependent on their surrounding natural resources for their livelihoods.
Some of the other challenges faced by small-scale fishing communities include mining, the impact of conservation and marine protected areas and access and control of land and fisheries.
“Exploitation of mines is key to South Africa’s economic growth and a strategy for post-pandemic recovery - yet, mining operations have devastated large parts of the ecosystems of the country and the lives of people who depend on them.
“The mining industry is responsible for much of the environmental and ecological destruction seen today in South Africa.”
Referencing Port Nolloth, the report states that diamond mining and the use of cofferdams is resulting in the development of a dead zone for marine life, requiring years of rehabilitation.
The voices of fishers have also not been heard when it comes to policy and regulation, despite efforts for inclusion, the research found.
In terms of the impact of conservation, the report reads: “Efforts to conserve the country’s rich biodiversity, however, are deeply connected to colonialism and apartheid, and historically followed a protectionist approach, regarding people as separate from nature, and to be kept away from it.
“Today, while conservation has started to emphasise issues that relate to human rights, equity, access to natural resources and environmental sustainability, practices and the impact on the ground on local communities draw a very different picture.”
Recommendations include securing tenure and land access rights of small-scale fishers, stopping the violence and criminalisation of small-scale fishers, recognising the customary rights of small-scale fishers and developing strong small-scale fishing cooperatives and implementing policy effectively, among others.
Cape Times