The big news of the week this week is the announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) that Desmond Stevens will take over as acting head of the fisheries department after Greta Apelgren-Narkedien stepped down last month. The department is now in the process of appointing a permanent head of fisheries.

We wait with bated breath.

The Paternoster fishing community has made the news this week with a plea to the government to increase their crayfish quotas and ease regulations. During a meeting held in Paternoster with DA parliamentarian Pieter van Dalen, fishermen stated that their concerns had largely been ignored over the past seven years.

Peter Coraizen, representing small-scale fishermen on the local council, said that fishermen generally earn less than R500 per week, resulting in their children leaving their studies to join their parents in an attempt to increase family revenue.

The quota system offers no easy solutions and it is almost impossible to please all the parties involved, but it would be nice to see the small-scale fishing community taken care of more appropriately.

In a follow up to last week’s story regarding the arrested vessel, the E Whale, and the crew stranded aboard. The Taiwanese bank that owns the vessel has agreed to take responsibility for the wages of the crew until such date as the vessel is sold.

Good news for the crew and nice to see a financial institution stepping up and doing the right thing.