Traditional Line Fish

The origins of the South African boat-based line fishery can be traced back to the fishing activities of European seafarers in the 1500s. The Dutch colonised the Cape in 1652, but because of various restrictions, the fishery was slow to develop despite an abundance of fish. When the British captured the Cape Colony in 1795, all fishing restrictions were removed, and by the mid-1800s the commercial line fishery had become a thriving industry. The next spurt in the growth of the fishery occurred after the Second World War when both fishing effort and line fish catches increased substantially as a result of the simultaneous introduction of motorised vessels, the construction of small boat harbours along the coast and the availability of echo-sounding technology.

In spite of the 200 year history of the fishery, the basic life histories of many species have only recently been described. The first attempts at managing line fish resources were marked by the introduction of minimum size limits for selected species in 1940. However, the absence of life-history information about line fish stocks meant that these regulations were determined on a fairly arbitrary basis. As a result of growing concerns for the line fish resources, biological studies on a few important species (e.g. seventy four, hottentot, carpenter) were initiated in the 1960's. With the exception of a closed season for elf in KwaZulu-Natal, and snoek in the Cape, no other restrictions were promulgated until a comprehensive management framework was introduced for the line fishery in early 1985.

The 1985 management framework included revised minimum size limits, daily bag limits, closed seasons, commercial fishing bans for certain species and the capping of the commercial effort at the 1984 level. Owing to a lack of biological and fisheries data, the level of protection afforded to each species depended largely on qualitative indications of its vulnerability to exploitation, rather than on quantitative evaluations. Furthermore, the absence of clear management guidelines and the existence of strong lobby groups resulted in considerable compromise between managers and fishers regarding the implementation of management action for certain species.

The South African line fishery is a multi-user, multi-species fishery consisting of approximately 200 species of which 95 contribute significantly to commercial and recreational catches. The user groups may be broadly divided into recreational, commercial and subsistence components. The recreational component consists of approximately 450 000 users and may be divided into estuarine anglers, who fish from boats or river banks, rock and surf anglers and a recreational skiboat sector which operates in a similar environment to the commercial component. The subsistence sector is a new component, which was first recognised by the MLRA. The subsistence sector exists along the east coast, from the Eastern Cape to Northern KwaZulu-Natal and comprises shore-based and estuarine fishing activity. Due to high operating costs, the subsistence sector does not include a boat-based fishery. This policy concerns the commercial fishery only.

The traditional line fishery is a boat-based activity and currently consists of 3450 crew operating from about 450 commercial vessels of between 4.5m and 15m in length. The crew use hand line or rod-and-reel to target approximately 200 species of marine fish along the full 3000 km coastline, of which 50 species may be regarded as economically important. To distinguish between line fishing and long lining, line fishers are restricted to a maximum of 10 hooks per line. Target species include resident reef-fish, coastal migrants and nomadic species. Annual catches prior to the reduction of the commercial effort were estimated at 16000 tons for the traditional commercial line fishery. Almost all of the traditional line fish catch is consumed locally.

Owing to the large number of users, launch sites, species targeted and the operational range, the line fishery is managed in terms of a total applied effort ("TAE"), bag limits for species, closed areas, limitations of the gear used and restraints on the trade of collapsed and over-exploited species.

Geographically, line fishing takes place from Port Nolloth on the west coast to Richards Bay on the east coast. The fishery is not capital intensive and is exceptionally traditional in nature with fisher families having participated, in many instances, for generations and centuries. The fishery is characterised by insecure labour relations, including the ad hoc employment of crew.

Stock assessments conducted since the mid 1980's have revealed that with the exception of fast growing species, such as snoek and yellowtail, most commercially exploited traditional line fishes have been depleted to dangerously low levels. As a result productivity and hence annual catch are much lower than they could be; with obvious ramifications for job creation, tourism and conservation. Apart from these losses, the risk of stock collapse and commercial extinction, as has occurred for seventy-four, is extremely high.

Responding to the poor status of most traditional line fish resources, the Minister declared an environmental emergency in the traditional line fishery in December 2000. In terms of the emergency, the Minister determined that no more than 3450 persons may fish commercially for traditional line fish. The TAE allocated to the traditional commercial line fishery is an attempt to stabilise the declining trends in the fishery and then re-build over-exploited species.

Given their long life span and complex life histories and continuing fishing pressures, it is unlikely that significant positive changes will occur within a decade. During the World Summit on Sustainable Development ("WSSD"), countries undertook to maintain or rebuild fish stocks to levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yields. The goal is to be achieved on an urgent basis for depleted stocks, and if possible, by not later than 2015.