The government has allocated nearly US$52.6mn to improve the lives of coastal fishing communities in South Africa, Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Thursday.
Addressing the National Summit of Subsistence and Small-scale Fisheries, he said US$13.1mn was for setting up seven marine aquaculture projects. Two would be in the Western Cape: a perlemoen farm in Gansbaai and a finfish farm in Saldanha Bay.
Van Schalkwyk told delegates the subsistence and small-scale fishing sector "has not received the attention it deserves" and the department's aim was to make it "part of our core business". "We would like to engage this sector more intimately in the management of our marine resources. We are here to listen and obtain first-hand information on your views."
In response to protests from the floor that the needs of the fishing sector were not being taken into account, he said the resource base and the environment had to be taken into account: "Some fish populations are down, currents and temperatures are changing, species are migrating. These are the first signs of trouble. We are here to find out how to include your communities."
Source: Independent Online
