Author Archives: Natalie Janse

Weekly Press Review – 28 August 2015

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Exciting news for the local fishermen of Lamberts Bay as they will soon have the opportunity to become owners of a new crayfish processing factory in the area.

According to the press, local businessman, Gerrit Burger, has purchased an unused factory in the area and is in the process of fitting it with the necessary equipment to process crayfish on site.

As soon as the new crayfish quotas are announced in February, quota holders will be given the opportunity to apply for free shares in the fish factory.

Burger, owner of Delevex 279, realised that all locally caught crayfish in Lambert’s Bay was being transported to St Helena Bay for processing. This meant that the only income for local fishermen came from the sale of the crayfish to the St Helena factories. Why could the fish not be processed locally, thereby offering fishermen the chance to make a further profit from the processed fish and at the same time create new job opportunities in the area?

Burger is hoping to have the factory open later this year for a trial period, but the process of shareholding will only take place in the new year, once the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has settled the new quotas.

NASA research has revealed that ocean levels have risen a massive 22cm in some areas since 1992.

The press has reported the findings which state that continued global warming and the accelerated melting of the ice caps is responsible for the rise in water levels, and oceans will be facing  an unavoidable rise of up to 1 metre in the future.

The information is gathered by NASA scientists based on satellite measurements over a 23 year period.

Steve Nerem from the University of Colorado in the USA said, “Given what we know now about how the ocean expands as it warms, it is pretty certain that we are locked into at least three feet (91cm) of sea level rise, and probably more.  But we don’t know whether it will happen within a century or somewhat longer.”

The NSRI has been called to action again this week with the press reporting on an incident that took place earlier in the week in Richard’s Bay.  The NSRI were called out to rescue a couple and their dog after their yacht sank shortly after launching from the Zululand Yacht Club.

A tow-line was attached in an attempt to tow the yacht towards Durban, but the vessel began taking on water and started to sink.

The couple and their dog were rescued.

Weekly Press Review – 21 August 2015

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This week’s marine-related press reports focused on the make-up of the Fisheries Minster’s advisory panel which consists of Julian Smith, Mamakhe Mdhluli and Shaheen Moolla.

 

Lya Louw, founder of the Meermin Visserye CC in Lamberts Bay has voiced her concern about Moolla, of Feike Natural Resource Management Advisers, being on the Ministerial Appeals Advisory Panel which deals with appeals arising out of the 2013 Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP).

She feels that Moolla will not be able to remain unbiased as his family has interests in the fishing industry.  In 2012 Moolla was associated with the fishing company Meermin who approached him for assistance in the management of a 15-year fishing quota.  Moolla was Meermin’s legal representative for the sale agreement and Louw feels that the fact that Moolla’s wife was one of the respondents represents a clear conflict of interest.

Moolla has responded by saying that in the Meermin transaction, he merely served as a legal adviser and prepared the agreements and related documents.

“There is nothing that prevents my family from investing in the fishing industry as it is a sector we understand and know,” said Moolla.

Steve Galane, spokesman for Minister Senzeni Zokwana, said that Moolla had been appointed because of his knowledge  and experience in the fishing sector.

Galane added, “The Minister is happy with the work of the Appeals Advisory Team that has started working on the appeals.  Minister Zokwana would like to see this process coming to finalisation.”

 

 

Weekly Press Review – 14 August 2015

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An investigation implicating nine international shipping companies has made headlines this week. The Competition Commission investigation has implicated the nine international shipping companies in the prohibited practices of price fixing, market division and collusive tendering for the transportation of vehicles, equipment and machinery by sea to and from South Africa.

It is alleged that the companies involved agreed to fix prices, divide markets and collude on tenders.

The fact that there are a number of respondents to the investigation and that the entities involved are large entities, mostly not residing in South Africa, has only added to the complexity of the investigation.

Anthony Ndzabandzaba, part of the commission’s investigation team, said,”The commission is still proceeding with its investigations in respect of some of the firms that have not shown any willingness to settle.”

It would seem that perlemoen poaching is no longer a silent crime carried out under the cover of darkness.

According to the press this week, holiday makers in Franskraal were shocked to see approximately 30 poachers blatantly searching for abalone along the beach in broad daylight.

Fatima Savel of the Department of Fisheries was quoted as saying that once the department had been made aware of the illegal activities along the beach, officials had immediately visited the site, but the poachers had long gone.

However, people who were on the beach at the time of the incident said that two fisheries department officials, as well as police in the area, had driven passed the scene, but had done nothing.

Similar incidents have been reported at Gansbaai, Onrus and Kleinbaai.

Police spokesman Lt Col Andre Traut said that there were laws against poaching and that the police had a responsibility to act and detain these criminals.

Weekly Press Review – 7 August 2015

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Free diving is a sport of which I have very little knowledge, but as tributes begin to pour in for the missing Russian free diver Natalia Molchanova, it is clear that it is an extremely dangerous pursuit, enjoyed by like minded spirits with a great sense of discipline and a great love of the ocean. 

 The press has twice this week mentioned the 53-year old Molchanova, who went missing after free diving off the coast of Spain earlier this week.  She was not competing, but simply enjoying her passion for the sport with friends and family. 

 After her usual breathing exercises she entered the water, diving to a depth of between 30 and 40 metres and simply never resurfaced.  Searches, involving both helicopters and submarines are under way, but Mochanova is presumed dead. 

 Despite being known as the Russian Machine, the 23-time world champion, who had successfully dived to depths of 71 metres, also had a softer side.  She wrote poetry and loved children and animals.

Kimmo Lahtinen, president of the international free-diving federation, Aida said, “She was a free-diving superstar, and we all thought nothing could harm her. Nothing could happen to her, but we are playing with the ocean, and when you play with the ocean, you know who is the strongest one.”

 

 

 

 

Weekly Press Review – 31 July 2015

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Rescuers have freed another trapped whale according to the press this week.  The incident occurred about 100 metres offshore of Sunny Cove in Fish Hoek.  The 8 metre long humpback whale was freed after it became anchored to the sea bed by Whelk trap lines.

The whale was spotted by a local resident whilst he was out jogging.  The South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) was called to the scene and the rescue operation carried on late into the night.  Due to the severity and desperation of the operation, the SA Navy were also on standby to assist.

Due to the way the whale was trapped only its’ head was able to reach the surface for air.  Network spokesman Craig Lambinon said, “The line was anchored to the sea bed between the Whelk traps and had snarled around the tail, effectively meaning that the whale’s tail was trapped underwater.”

With the whale rapidly tiring it was a race against time, but the whale was eventually freed.

A thirteen year old girl has made the headlines this week by running her own aquaculture and aquaponics business in Johannesburg.  Rikalize Reinecke says it all started when she watched the movie “Dolphin Tale”.  She says it inspired her to want to be a marine biologist.

“I started doing research and this one page just popped up of an aquaculture farm in America,” she says.

After nagging her father for weeks and weeks he eventually agreed to assist her, but only if she managed to get a qualification.  He believed this would be enough of a deterrent.

His determined young daughter did not give up and completed a week long course at Aquaculture Innovations in Grahamstown and the rest, as they say, is history.

Reinecke’s aquaculture farm is expanding.  She want s to invest in steam boilers and solar power to allow her project to go completely off the grid.  Demand for her products is so great that she will soon be erecting 10 new dams that have already been donated to her project, and she has not given up on her dream of becoming a marine biologist one day…

Weekly Press Review – 24 July 2015

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The sardines are back! The good news for fishermen was covered in the press this week as large catches of sardines along Durban’s beach front caused much excitement.

For more than five years sardine catches have been unsuccessful in the region, but this week large numbers of sardines were spotted along the South Coast, as fishermen scoured the waters between Blue Lagoon and uShaka Beach.

Seasoned fisherman, Tony Outar Moon, said, “The sardines were in deeper waters in the past few years.  It is hard to predict where they will show up next.”

The SA Agulhas II has embarked on its latest research expedition.  According to the press this week the vessel left Cape Town harbour on Tuesday to carry out a 25-day research expedition in the Southern Ocean.  The research will be taking place in three main research areas:  the third Southern Ocean Seasonal Cycle Experiment, South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation South Africa and the Southern Ocean Trace Metal and Bio Geochemistry.

There has been a focus in the press this week on the uncertain future of the South African penguin.  Although there has been some stabilisation in bird numbers, this is no reason to allow for complacency.

According to Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) spokesman, Zolile Nqayi, the department has set several goals to ensure the future of the African penguin.  These include ensuring that the birds continue to be regarded as a protected species and the department is looking into the possibility of establishing new bird colonies in areas where there is more protection and more food readily available.

Weekly Press Review – 17 July 2015

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Shark researchers in the US on a quest for more humane solutions to protect ocean users from sharks have made a real breakthrough according to the press this week:  education and a bit of common sense.

The research done by researchers at Stanford University has found that the solution does not need to be as extreme as culling sharks.  Simply providing better information to bathers about the risk of shark attacks should be enough.

Shark researcher, Francesco Ferretti, said, “Just like we check the weather before going boating, or the surf forecast before going surfing, getting information about the risk of encountering large predators can become a normal precaution we take before going into the ocean.”

Information for bathers to consider would be the season, the time of day and the types of activities taking place in the water.  For example, spear fishing is an activity with added risk.

The KZN Sharks Board has responded by saying that in South African waters the problem lies in the fact that the great white shark is not the only problem species in the area. The behaviour and habits of Zambezi and tiger sharks also need to be considered.

For now our shark nets remain in place, but surely there is a lot to be said for just using your common sense when interacting with the ocean environment, or any other environment for that matter..

Also covered in the press this week is the signing of an agreement by ambassadors from the US, Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark and other Arctic nations barring their fishing fleets from fast-thawing sea areas around the North Pole.

The agreement was reached in response to the ever increasing threat of global warming which is resulting in the melting of sea ice in the central Arctic Ocean and impacting on marine life in the immediate area and beyond.

Very little is known about this area, but the agreement is seen as a pre-emptive strike.  The deal  “will prevent a problem from arising ahead of time,” said David Balton, US deputy assistant secretary of state for oceans and fisheries.

Scott Highleyman, director of international Arctic  affairs at the Pew Charitable Trusts environmental group said, “It’s hugely encouraging.  It’s hard to get governments’ attention for problems that haven’t occurred yet.”

The agreement also called for more research into Arctic marine resources.

Weekly Press Review – 10 July 2015

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It comes as no surprise that there is still much unhappiness around the 2015/16 fishing rights allocation process.  The press has reported this week that both small scale and commercial fishermen have criticised the draft fishing rights allocation as unfair.

This week officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) held the second of 31 public consultation meetings.

The current draft policy proposes a 26 percent fee increase for all sectors.  Full time commercial fishermen, Armin Weinar was quoted as saying:  “They say they want to be fair to all applicants.  Then at the same time they want to everybody judged against the same criteria by no longer splitting the applicants up between existing rights holders and new entrants.”

Weinar also added that the industry was close to his heart and that he is saddened to see resources dwindle so dangerously.

The press has also covered the rescue of a hump back whale that became entangled in ropes and bouys off Cape Point earlier this week.  The research vessel the Ellen Khuzwayo was carrying out research in  the area and the whale became in tangled in the ropes and bouys being used for the research.  The South African Whale Disentanglement Network was alerted and after a 40 minute operation the whale was freed and despite some damage to its stock tail seemed to be strong and healthy.

Operation Phakisa has made headlines again this week with a seminar in London attended by Transport Deputy Minister Sindiswe Chikunga to promote investment in South Africa’s oceans economy.

In her address at the conference which took place at South Africa House in London the minister said that the conference displayed the ethos of Operation Phakisa which was to accelerate implementation of government’s strategic development programmes.

Research shows that South Africa’s ocean economy has the potential to contribute R180 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create about a million jobs.

The purpose of Chikunga’s visit to London has been to share information on the recent developments South Africa has achieved in growing the oceans economy.

“We need potential partners on a win-win basis to support South Africa’s oceans economy strategy. We extend an open invitation to investors to visit South Africa to further explore vast investment opportunities,” the minister said.

Weekly Press Review – 3 July 2015

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The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has made headlines again this week with commercial abalone quota holders hitting out at the department’s new draft policies for long-term quota allocations.

Abalone SA described the new draft policy as “a superficial copy and paste job”, leaving quota holders with no choice, but to “reject the entire process”.

More criticism was launched regarding the public meetings held around the coast to discuss key concerns.  Each meeting was scheduled to be only two hours in length, with all 11 sectors represented at each meeting, making it impossible for concerned quota holders to have their say.  Most meetings were scheduled after the deadline for public comment anyway, making them effectively null and void.

As of yet, department spokesperson Carol Moses has offered no comment.

There has been surprising reactions in the press to complaints by members of Fresh Air for Hout Bay and other Hout Bay residents regarding the smell of fish emanating from the Oceana fish factory in the area.

Roscoe Jacobs, also a resident of Hout Bay, and a member of the Hout Bay Civic Association, has been quoted in the press as saying that the “unbearable smell” from the factory, also represents the smell of money.  The factory employs 226 workers, most of whom come from the Hout Bay area.   Without the factory, those individuals would not be able to make a living and put food on the table for their families.  He feels that those doing the complaining were well aware of the factory when they moved into the area.

It would seem that there are always two sides to every story and that the inconvenience of a bad smell surely does not compare to losing the chance to earn a living and provide for your family.

Weekly Press Review – 26 June 2015

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The Lucky Star fishmeal factory in Hout Bay is causing a stink this week.  The press reported that a meeting scheduled to discuss the smell of rotting fish emanating from the factory was cancelled at the last moment.

Lucky Star is a subsidiary of the Oceana group and the meeting between the company and the City’s mayoral committee was set to discuss mitigation measures by the factory to reduce air pollution.

Bulelwa Nombutuma, spokesperson for Oceana, said that the meeting did not take place as one of their council members was not available.

Kiara Worth, chairperson for the air pollution portfolio for the Hout Bay Residents Ratepayers Association said that the smell had been affecting schools, churches and homes as well as the well-being of residents in the area for over 20 years.

No indication has been given as to when, or if, the meeting will be re-scheduled.

From air pollution to water pollution.  It was reported in the press this week that a group of 160 civic organisations have urged the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) to refuse the City of Cape Town’s application to continue pumping raw sewerage into the Atlantic, unless the City is able to come up with a plan to phase out sewerage-to-sea outfalls.

Unlike other areas in the city where sewerage is treated before it is pumped into the ocean, at the three areas in question, Hout Bay, Camps Bay and Green Point, the sewerage being pumped into the ocean has not been treated.

The City has responded by saying that it is simply too expensive to first pump the sewerage to the treatment plant at Athlone, and that at present there is no other viable alternative.

The Greater Cape Town Alliance has responded by saying that the time has come for new, innovative and environmentally friendly solutions for sewage disposal.

With the renewed focus on the blue economy and the investment in our oceans as the providers of food and the very air that we breathe, surely step one would be to start to address this kind  of problem and call on our young scientists to come up with financially viable solutions that could be implemented sooner rather than later.