The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) indicated that it is aware of the concerns raised by fishing communities regarding the reduction in the West Coast Rock Lobster Total Allowable Catch (TAC).
According to DFFE, it is acutely aware that fishing communities, especially small-scale fishers, are more vulnerable to the impact of the recently announced reduction in the catch quota.
Department spokesperson Zolile Nqayi says the West Coast Rock Lobster fishery has been experiencing challenges of rapidly declining stocks in recent years.
” Besides the sector being faced with increasing demand from fishing communities and the broader public for access to the resource, illegal fishing and the effects of climate change have also contributed to the vulnerability of the species,” Nqayi said.
Read also: WWF court order approved to save West Coast rock lobsters
The TAC announced annually has been based on scientific and operational information since 1997. However, a TAC of 837 tons has been determined for the 2020/21 fishing season taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, the highly depleted status of the WCRL resource, and lower-than-expected resource status indicators.
Nqayi said further that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on market demand for the majority of the 2019/20 season, with losses being incurred by the WCRL fishing sector.
” The 2021 updated assessment indicates that West Coast Rock Lobster number has decreased more than expected in the past two years. Rather than being at 90% of its 2006 level as estimated in 2019, the resource is now estimated to be at only 70%. In recent decades WSRL populations have been at about 2.5% of the accepted pristine level in 1910. However, the numbers have dropped to about 1.5% of the pristine level of late,” Nqayi added.
Read also: Poachers arrested with West Coast Rock Lobsters in Olifantsbos
Meanwhile, the updated assessment makes it clear that the status of the resource is now appreciably worse than thought to be the case 12 months ago, which means a meaningful reduction in the TAC is, therefore necessary to rebuild the resource from its current 2021 level by 2025.
Challenges:
- Increasing compliance-related efforts to combat poaching and over-fishing
- Improving the collection and processing of poaching and local market sales statistics
- Piloting of a live traceability system
- The deployment of catch data monitors along the South African coastline and
- Increasing the capacity and scope to monitor landings in the commercial, small-scale, and recreational fishing sectors.
Read more:
Look! Mass gatherings of humpback whales grace the West Coast
Picture: WWF