Fishing subsidies in the W. Cape: ‘Illegal fishing is our only option’ - The Mail & Guardian

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Fishing subsidies in the W. Cape: ‘Illegal fishing is our only option’ - The Mail & Guardian
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Fishing subsidies in the W. Cape: ‘Illegal fishing is our only option’ - Fishers claim they are forced into illegal trawling because subsidies only benefit big vessels

At Pringle Bay, a small coastal village in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, there has been no sight of boats or fishers all morning.

“In my 26 years in this business, the last few years have been the worst. We are trying to do whatever we can to make ends meet here,” he says. there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of fish and other marine creatures extracted from the seas in recent decades. Many linefish species, the most accessible of our inshore fish stocks, are overexploited or have collapsed because of illegal fishing methods and overfishing.

The crew and captains of these aged deep-sea vessels offload their catch for the attention of labourers waiting on the platform. Fish are sorted and transported to vehicles, or sometimes to an auctioneer waiting a few paces away. With the fishing space crowded and the catch uncertain, respecting fishing net size restrictions or bans on catching becomes a challenge. TheSpeaking to theat Hout Bay harbour, community leader Clarence Smith says the government “is not catering for small-scale fisheries, and this is another failure by the department”.

“It is seen as a way of creating some favours for large industrial fishing, and it is the large-scale fishers that are causing illegal and overfishing problems. The government has to look at how to help small-scale and commercial fisheries to avoid overfishing and illegal activities on our seas. However, a shortage of boats, offloading facilities, transport logistics, holding facilities, processing facilities, storage facilities and marketing continue to profit market providers instead of small fishing communities., thousands of foreign fishing vessels ply African waters every year seeking to tap the continent’s rich fish stocks. Many of the vessels are believed to be illegally exploiting Africa’s fisheries.

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