Small-scale fisheries governance and understanding the snoek (Thyrsites atun) supply chain in the Ocean View fishing community, Western Cape, South Africa
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Date
2013
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Resilience Alliance
Abstract
Postapartheid fisheries reform in South Africa, through the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) 18 of 1998, used individual transferable quotas (ITQs) to broaden resource access through allocating quotas to new entrants, even though the system has been created to reduce capacity through a reduction in the number of active fishers. The formal action space created through fisheries reform in South Africa left many artisanal fishers to operate in the informal action spaces, selling Thyrsites atun (snoek) to poor communities to sustain their livelihoods. Artisanal fishers were not recognized by MLRA of 1998 and through class action case brought against the ITQ system, and in out of court settlement with the claimants in 2007, 1000 interim relief permits will be allocated to artisanal fishes and the development of a new small-scale fisheries policy for South
Africa.
In this case study of a fishing community in Ocean View, Cape Town I examine a snoek fishery that operates differently, through a community supply chain and informal markets, than that of the high value ITQ regulated species, yet plays a significant role
in the livelihoods of artisanal fishers and in the food security of poor households. The findings of this case study show the failures of existing policy frameworks and the implications for the implementation of the new small-scale fisheries policy in South Africa.
Description
Keywords
Small-scale fisheries, Food security, Individual transferable quotas (ITQs), Collective rights, Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), Ocean View, Cape Town
Citation
Isaac, M. (2013). Small-scale fisheries governance and understanding the snoek (Thyrsites atun) supply chain in the Ocean View fishing community, Western Cape, South Africa. Ecology and Society, 18 (4): 17