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The usually tranquil Hondeklip Bay on South Africa's West Coast has recently become a flashpoint of tension between small-scale fishers and government authorities. The deployment of police and members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on 15 March to the tiny fishing village has sparked an outcry from the local community reliant on fishing for their livelihood.
Daniel Ruiter is among the many small-scale fishers in South Africa disenfranchised by the scarcity of vessel permits available to them. Despite being recognized by the finalised small-scale fishing rights process in November last year, Ruiter and his peers in Hondeklip Bay are unable to legally fish for linefish using their boats due to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment's (DFFE) restrictive allocation of just 377 vessel permits for a community of nearly 12,000 fishers.
In an attempt to continue their profession, fishers like Ruiter have resorted to obtaining recreational permits. This move, however, led to confrontation when they were met by law enforcement on the beach alongside confiscation of their catch and issuance of fines by DFFE officials. The snoek, a local linefish species, became the symbol of the fishers' plight as photos and videos of the confrontation surfaced on social media, conveying the ensuing "panic and fear" among the fishers.
Ward committee member Carisa Soudens has become an advocate for the fishers, reaching out to the DFFE for an apology and a meeting to resolve the quandary that puts their traditional way of life at risk. The DFFE's stringent actions have been condemned by the tight-knit community as “unacceptable,” according to the experienced fisher, Ruiter, who insists that dialogue rather than enforcement is the way forward.
Peter Mbelengwa, spokesperson for the DFFE, defended the operation, emphasizing that the enforcement was aimed at preventing illegal catches that harm legal and legitimate fishing activities. The DFFE claims to target only operators surpassing recreational daily limits, not to impede fishers with valid permits. Following the community's protest and subsequent meetings, including a cooperative meeting held on 27 March, the department has agreed to review the vessel permit allocations.
Nevertheless, the community awaits a substantive response, as the current vessel limit is perceived as grossly insufficient for their needs. Without an increase in vessels, the right to fish at a small-scale feels empty, echoing Ruiter's sentiment that their right "means nothing."
As the Hondeklip Bay community awaits an expedient and favorable resolution, the tension serves as a poignant reminder of the struggles across many South African coastal villages, where fishing is both a lifeline and a heritage.