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.