Chapter 8: Small-scale Fishers and Their Role in Ocean Governance in South Africa

Historically, coastal communities have been harvesting marine resources to support their livelihoods, for basic subsistence, and for spiritual and medicinal purposes as part of their cultural practices. However, fishers along the South African coastline have been marginalised for decades. Systemic exclusion resulting from past legislation and increased privatisation of marine resources resulted in pressure on the country's leadership to transform a sector that deprived many racial groups access to resources. In June 2012, the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy (SSFP) was adopted by the government with the goal of allocating preferential fishing zones for small-scale fishers, ensuring the sustainable co-management of marine resources, increasing benefits for women in fishing communities, improving access to markets, and providing infrastructural support. In addition, the policy aimed to ensure the participation of small-scale fishing communities in ocean governance processes such as the planning and implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs). Nevertheless, recent legal battles revolving around the halting of seismic surveys off the east and west coasts of South Africa, inland fisheries that are still governed by pre-democracy laws, and the setting aside of allocation rights, have highlighted the continued side-lining and marginalisation of small-scale fishers. This chapter examines how addressing the factors perpetuating the continued marginalisation of small-scale fishing communities can ensure that these communities can play a more meaningful role in ocean governance; leading to more sustainable outcomes.