While the tuna pole industry is recovering from the shock waves and subsequent aftershocks from the announcement of the successful and unlucky unsuccessful long term rights allocation from DAFF, there are those of us left scratching our heads. Literally since 31st of December when the entire fleet had to return to port, DAFF has yet to notify each applicant in writing outlining the reasons for them having to revert back to paper quota holders to ensure their food security and existence. The majority of the tuna pole fishermen rely upon this industry and tuna season as their sole income. Somewhere along the line, DAFF has missed a trick here. They have made it publicly clear that the department is encouraging "consolidation" of fishing efforts by the vessel owners and right holders alike. Basically, they are wanting the right holder to be the vessel owner and visa verse therefore essentially consolidating and eliminating the paper quota holder for good.
For those who are unfamiliar with this industry, there are those within the industry who own their vessels and long term rights. Then there are those who have vessels but have not been granted a right or missed the previous rights allocation. Lastly, for what ever reason, there are those "fortunate ones" who are mere right holders and who do not own a suitable vessel, but rather lease out their right to the second example in the form of a catching agreement. The paper right holder, will therefor charge the vessel owner a set rate per kilogram of tuna landed and literally earn money for jam.
So with last years Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP) having come and gone, those who consolidated their efforts have been left scratching their heads on the quayside. Most have already resorted to signing catching agreements with those paper quota holders who were successful. Not that DAFF's customer service center is able to process the paperwork for the application to change a nominated vessel at this time anyway. It disgusts me to know the fact that the unsuccessful applicants have yet to even receive their formal letter from the department notifying them of their denied application and the reasons thereof. Their lack of urgency must simply be accredited to their general inability as a department to function correctly and efficiently and are simply "buying their time" in their apparent tactic of dividing and conquering the tuna pole fishery. With the majority of successful right holders already having resumed their fishing operations after a forced shut down (my exporting company has estimated that the 3 days of no fishing has cost us around R4mil in lost revenue alone!) only the consolidated company's have been left stranded on land watching as their colleagues offload ton after ton on the quayside. It has now been 2 weeks since the announcement and the ones left stranded have yet been afforded the opportunity to appeal the decision lodged against them.
In the subsequent aftermath, DAFF will in all eventualities roll some heads down the slipway in the form of Desmond Stevens the acting DDG as was the case after the last FRAP with Horst. The 2013 FRAP in itself has been agreed too by all parties to be correct and fare and where the problems arise is in the personnel behind this process. Desmond's lack of understanding of the entire fishing industry has landed him in the pressure pot. It wouldn't surprise me if we see him getting a nice fat handshake after-which the department will shift the blame across.
Who knows what Desmond's thinking?
Watch Carte Blanche this coming Sunday to see Derek interview the Fresh Tuna Exporters Association's chairman, Steve Cameron-Dow.
In the mean time, FISHERIES MANAGEMENT BRANCH WELCOMES THE INVESTIGATION OF THE PUBLIC PROTECTOR
Cape Town – Thursday, 09 January 2014: The Fisheries Management Branch of the
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) welcome the news of an
investigation by the Public Protector into the Fishing Rights Allocation Process 2013 (FRAP
2013).
