Zululand fisherman still await permits
Still no clear guidelines for Zululand fishers
FEAR, anger and uncertainty still hangs over the small-scale fishing communities living along the northern coastline of KZN.
From Sokhulu to Mazambane on the Mozambican border, these communities are unsure how they will feed their families and send their children to school.
Despite the fact that at a recent Imbizo held in Sokhulu, Minister Zokwana of Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) promised them that by December they would be able to enjoy their small-scale fishing rights, the fishers of this region remain doubtful.
The community says they are receiving mixed messages from DAFF, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and iSimangaliso Wetlands Authority.
Since 2012, DAFF officials have promised small-scale fishers recognition of their fishing rights, capacity building and training and access to infrastructure.
They have been encouraged to prepare to set up cooperatives so they can establish commercial enterprises.
On the other hand, they claim they are continuously being harassed by rangers from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
In some areas, such as around the St Lucia Estuary, where the iSimangaliso Park Headquarters are situated, they face daily harassment.
iSimangaliso planning documents suggest that, far from having their rights to fish confirmed, they will be further restricted in future.
The zonation plans for Kosi Bay Estuary and St Lucia Estuary and the draft iSimangaliso Integrated Management Plan suggest that fishers living and fishing in these regions will be very tightly controlled and only very limited subsistence fishing and harvesting activities will be permitted in certain areas.
These documents are silent about recognition of the customary rights of these fishing communities.
Minimal licences issued
The results of the DAFF small-scale fisheries (SSF) application and verification processes in the village of St Lucia are shocking.
Over 300 fishers applied for SSF rights, but only two persons were successful.
One SSF fisherman, aged 35 reported that he has been fishing since he was very young and has been arrested more times than he can remember.
The fishers say conservation has become the primary industry in this region, dispossessing people of their access to their waters.
In the words of a leader from Nibela, ‘Our government prioritises nature over people and there is no balance, even though the constitution says there should be a balance.’
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