Life Goes On...One Way Or Another?

Lately I have been inundated with comrades calling me as if they have struck that rich vein of gold at the end of the rainbow tuna tail. With excitement in their voices their tone exudes arrogance but yet I can’t help and feel sorry for them. Like most whose dreams didn't materialize of striking it rich in the 1848 California gold rush, they too were lured somehow with promises of wealth and success. So my comrades with glee in their eyes excitedly explain that they can catch tuna. “Wow I reply that’s incredible! And how do you intend catching it all the way from Soweto?” So here is where the whole “paper quota holder” comes into the picture. These comrades have been granted tuna pole rights but with no vessel, no investment within the industry and more importantly, no knowledge of this game what so ever. Once I have corrected them in saying that entire fleet already have rights activated and that their license fee is absurd, their tone changes very quickly. “But you don’t understand.” they reply… upon which I simply give up and explain that they are too late and have literally missed the boat as all have rights activated already, all be it not their own. 

                     

With the whole fleet by now having successfully having paired up with their choms from Soweto, Langa and the likes in order to utilize their paper quotas, the fleet has resumed “normal” fishing operations whilst they await the outcome of their FRAP 2013 appeals.

So Desmond, I wonder how a guy in Soweto is going to effectively utilize and create food security with a 16 man right in a landlocked city? Maybe they can go paddle around the mine dump waste water and look for their "gold"?  Meanwhile, the actual fishermen and their livelihoods and futures are spun out of control by the spin drift that is DAFF.

 On a lighter line, we have to date managed to export in excess of 1500 tons of albacore and with the historical seasonal patterns resuming, we now have been landing excellent quantities of yellow fin. With the latter price currently being higher than the albacore, the vessel owners can enjoy a slightly higher return. We haven’t seen yellow fin in this quantity prior 2009 if I recall correctly. This will bode well for the 45ft slurry vessels (“Tupperware” as they are affectionately referred to by the Portuguese) that will be able to effectively target this species for the sashimi markets which we air freight to destinations such as Japan, USA and Spain, to name a few.

In Namibia we have experienced good albacore catches for the handful of live bait freezer vessels who have managed to land some 250+ tons each for the season so far. Their season will run until the end of April with these same vessels catches exceeding 400 tons each. In the interim, the vessels fishing in SA waters will continue to pursue that illusive water conditions that will allow for good tuna catches. With the fresh yellow fin market being flooded (some 2000 individual yellow fin have been landed since Friday last week) the vessels would do well to target the albacore for fresh exports. Frozen yellow fin will also fetch a rand or two above the albacore price so even gilling and gutting the yellow fin for the freezer is a good viable option. As an exporter, our main reasons for not exporting more volumes of yellow fin to the sashimi markets is two folded namely; the size of this yellow fin is too small and falls under the minimum weight acceptable by customers and also the colour. We are seeing inconsistency of colour throughout the loin and a very light translucent fleshy colour. The fat content of this yellow fin is also low which would suggest that they have traveled some distance and not residing in an area allowing enough time to feed and accumulate their required fat. Literally we are landing rats and as such have to be frozen to -20°C for the canning industry.

On a side note, I believe that Chris Pike has landed some good catches of Striped Marlin on the Struisbaai banks!

So far this season has allowed a much needed financial relief for the boat owners who will be able to clear themselves out of the red for the first time in about 2 years. So, true to our industry its either feast or famine. Long may this feast continue comrade?

For &@$DAFF's*$% sake you said consolidate?

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). 

With Department of Fisheries Closed Its Not Such A Merry Time For All!!!

As of now the fishing industry has yet to receive a response from the Fisheries Department and as it currently stands, all tuna pole vessels will have to be in port no later than midnight of the 31st of December. The Fresh Tuna Exporters Association sent the Department of Fisheries a legal letter from our lawyers for a request within grounds stipulated in the Marine Living Resource Act motivating for for the extension of all current permits until the end of January 2014. This extension will allow sufficient time for the department to pulls its finger out of what ever orifice it currently has it stuck up and roll out the rights allocation in line with the FRAP 2013. Despite the ever wise Minister guaranteeing that all rights will be allocated no later than the 31st of December, they have not been able to even respond to formal letters sent by industry such as the letter from the FTEA addressed to the minister below:

We will have to see what their official response will be on Monday upon their opening but I wouldn't dare hold my breath. The below article by John Yeld was extracted from the Cape Times and highlights the extent of this issue:

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Incompetence Prevents Fishing

 As of today, the decisions in the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP) 2013 have not yet been handed down and notified to the public. Given that existing rights expire on 31 December 2013 this is a cause of great concern for many right holders as they will have to return to port and cease fishing operations. To date no clarity has been given by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) on an exact date when applicants can expect decisions, however, DAFF has reiterated its undertaking that rights will be allocated and applicant’s notified of decisions before midnight on 31 December 2013. This does not help as the vessels will have to remain berthed in ports until the rights can be issued and paid for.

It is anticipated that if DAFF complies with its undertaking, that successful applicants will be advised of the decision to allocate them a right along with rules to govern the dispensation that will allow them to continue their fishing operations. To date DAFF has provided no clarity as to how it intends to allow for the seamless transition from the expiry of the long term rights period to the new rights period without interrupting critical fishing operations. If no guidance is provided by DAFF or no special dispensation is created (which is envisaged) then in terms of the MLRA successful applicants will not be entitled to commence fishing operations in 2014 until they hold a valid catching permit for 2014.

The Letter below is from the Fresh Tuna Exporters Association addressed to DAFF and from which we have still not received a positive response.

Our concern at this stage is that the longer the publication of decisions takes the less time it allows successful applicants to obtain permits. We have been advised by Customer Services at DAFF that their offices close on Tuesday, 24 December 2013 at 10h00 and will reopen on Thursday, 2 January 2014 at 8h30. This effectively means the successful applicants will not be able to apply for permits if the decision on applications is made or publicised any later than 10h00 on this coming Tuesday morning.

Dawson and Edwards have advised that concerned applicants submit a letter to DAFF on Monday or Tuesday morning, prior to closing of the Customer Services Centre, applying to the Minister for an exemption in terms of Section 81 of the Marine Living Resources Act. This exemption application would be a request by existing right holder applicants to continue their fishing operations in January or until such time as they are issued with a valid 2014 catching permit by DAFF without a right or a valid catching permit. As things currently stand rumors suggest that unsuccessful long term rights holding applicants will not be permitted to continue fishing between the period of the notification of the delegated authority’s decision and the finalization of the appeal by the Minister. This would, of course, have disastrous effects for the businesses of any unsuccessful applicants and could well destroy existing businesses.

  

Currently the entire fleet is at sea and are unaware of these issues and it has been up to the respective tuna associations to apply on their behalf for the the extension. With the past 2-3 years of tuna fishing having been disastrous, the impacts of the grounding of the fleet would have extreme consequences on the local fishermen and their families. With the recent good run of tuna catches, the lack of understanding and urgency from DAFF is very worrying. The minister has assured that rights will be issued before the end of the year, but not even the amount payable by successful applicants has been gazetted yet. Basically, even if you are awarded a right, the government doesn't know how much you would need to pay for it. 

Merry Xmas DAFF

Namibia’s Success Leaves South African Fishing Industry Shrugging Its shoulders

The recent newspaper article “Namibia limits oil exploration to cater for tuna migration” has left a bitter impression on their neighboring tuna industry in South Africa. Anna Erastus, a senior Namibian fisheries ministry official in conjunction with the Namibian Large Pelagic and Hake Long Line Association has successfully managed to postpone all seismic testing near the South African border in close proximity to Tripp Seamount. The oil exploration will now be conducted outside of the traditional tuna catching months when the albacore tuna (main target specie) migrate up the Benguela Current from South African waters. Following suit with the Australian blue fin tuna industries headway with seismic testing, the Namibian testing will now only be conducted during winter months namely, May to September when these species are absent. This has shown to not impede on the migration of the tuna and subsequent catches have been improved. The Namibian catches have gone from 4000 tons in 2011 to a mere 650 tons last year showing a steady decline in catch rates whilst seismic testing has been conducted.

                                                      News Paper Article 26.11.2013

All this effort would have been too no avail as the South Africa Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has yet to even respond to formal letters addressed by her counterpart in Namibia requesting that this issue be prioritized. They have since sent her and the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa  a follow up letter but too the same avail. With the tuna migrating though SA waters up the coast and into Namibia, if South Africa still goes ahead with the proposed testing in the Orange Basin close to the border, the effects could possibly be detrimental to their season. It seems the Namibians are peeing in to that proverbial wind.

The Second Letter Addressed to Tina & Edna

With South Africa and Namibia sharing an ICCAT quota for albacore, Tina Joemat-Petterson needs to realize that it’s going to be the South African flagged vessels that will significantly loose out as these vessels are responsible for the majority of the Namibian landings. In essence, it will be local fishermen and their families that will ultimately pay the price. From a Namibian perspective, their industry relies upon the South African flagged vessels to employ the majority of their seasonal fishermen, the factories for volumes of throughput and other associated secondary services such as the ship’s agents and chandlers.

Nan Price of the Dolphin Action and Protection Group has been actively opposing the seismic testing being conducted and has commented that the effects of the underwater blasts have far reaching consequences which I will cover in a latter blog entry. For the affects of seismic testing on marine life please read an earlier blog post titled: Seismic Effects on the South African and Namibian Tuna 2012/2013 Season
.

The Spectrum Map Showing the Seismic Testing Blocks In Purple

The consequences of the seismic testing have far reaching implications and is simply a trans border issue. I could even argue that this issue should be elevated to the level of the Benguela Current Commission but alas, we can’t seem to even get our Minister to put one foot in front of the other. I wonder what will motivate her? A sizable envelope no doubt?

Priorities For ICCAT

The general public may not be aware of the international regulations/ stipulations that is being recommended from such an organisation as International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF). Their latest article highlights the importance of the Regional Fishery Management Organisation (RFMO's) to govern and regulate their respective oceans for sustainability. In Cape Town the South African government is hosting the 23rd annual International Commission  For The Conservation Of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) conference. I was unable to attend as part of the 54 man South African delegation comprising the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF) and industry as for certain reasons. Besides this setback, I feel that the South African Tuna Pole Fishery will be well looked after by those representatives from our industry namely, The Large Pelagic SMME Association and The South African Tuna Association both of which I'm on the respective committees. Various topics will be tabled for discussion throughout this week concerning the tuna species in the North and Southern Atlantic Oceans. A more heated topic is that of the blue fin tuna with Japan and Spain baying for an increase to their respective quotas and in stiff opposition to this are the likes of Green Peace and ISSF, who will compellingly argue that scientific data proves otherwise. The South African quota is so small that our vessels manage to catch our country's quota in a matter of a few weeks and such, blue fin tuna on the long lines are simply cut off the line dead when the quota is finished. However, South Africa is in the final stages of full membership with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) will subsequently have their quota increased substantially. South Africa which shares its quota with Namibia have consecutively under caught its ICCAT quota for albacore.

ICCAT is responsible for the management of the tuna stocks within the Atlantic and thus allocate Total Allowable Catch (TAC's) to each nation with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Atlantic. Based on their scientific research conducted on stock assessment, they will issue each complying nation with a respective quota for each specie. ICCAT ensures that sufficient management systems are in place and functional to ensure correct governance of each flag state as well as a comprehensive fishing vessel register. In short the Atlantic tuna is only as well governed as the flag state within that particular stock is being caught and ICCAT ensures with all its checks and balances that thus is so.

The ISSF has notably made recommendations to ICCAT on the global issues of Harvest Control Rules and predetermined Reference Points to avoid and prevent over fishing of the stocks. ISSF is pushing for a closed vessel registry and a cap placed on the total number of fishing vessels allowed to actively fish in the Atlantic. Currently ICCAT does have this in place, but the ISSF is rallying even further for the reduction of the total fleet capacity to more acceptable levels. Under the topic of Fish Aggregating Devices (FAD's) the ISSF is challenging ICCAT for the comprehensive recording of data in log books for all catches concerning these as well as a FAD closure such as what is implemented in the Pacific for 2 months of the year. FAD's are responsible for the majority of juvenile tuna catches. Currently ICCAT does not enforce total catch retention to ensure that all tuna caught is landed and not dumped at sea. Undesirable species and sizes are discarded at sea to allow for the more valuable species to be landed.

Whilst ICCAT remains on top of all the five RFMO's with regards to compliance within the Atlantic, there is still scope for improvement from the pilot scheme that is currently been implemented by the ICCAT Compliance Committee. All in all our Atlantic Ocean is in good hands so to speak and is one of the better managed global oceans.

You Decide - Imported vs Local Wild Caught Line Fish

This argument is currently doing the rounds on our local newspapers with recent articles by journalist John Yeld namely; "‘Snoek’ imports sinking local fishers” and “Imported fish costs less,say retailers.” Both these articles provide the average consumer insight into the issues facing the local fisherman and the retailers alike.

The fisherman argue that imported Yellow Tail (Seriola Lalandi) and Snoek (Thyrsites Atun) is ruining their market with far reaching consequences for all dependent thereupon, whilst the retailers will argue it affords them the consistency for their customers at the right price. Let’s be honest here. It’s a tough and complex argument as we are discussing the livelihoods of so many artisan fishers and the consumer being positively affected by the importation of frozen line fish. The locally caught fish supplied during “fish runs” will experience a price decrease with basic economic understanding of demand vs supply. The price will fluctuate drastically depending on the volumes being caught, whereas the price for imports will be more stable according to the rate of exchange, thereby affording the retailers the opportunity to plan ahead and guarantee supply. The retailers cannot rely on the seasonal catches for regular supply and so have turned to the highly competitively priced imported farmed fish. The average consumer probably would not be able to tell the difference anyway. It is therefore not a quality issue rather that of an affected livelihood.

Whilst no one will argue the point that farmed (aquaculture) fish is not as tastier, firmer ,etc than wild caught, the public has a right to know what they are purchasing and from which origin. The manner in which we prepare and cook our “catch” also closes the gap between the fresh taste and that of the farmed with countless recipes involving complex spices.

The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has strict import regulations and all fish products are thoroughly tested prior to being released for our local consumption. There are more regulations adhered too with the importing of frozen fish than what is currently being implemented on the line fish boats. In fact there are none for these vessels operating within this fishing sector. For argument sake, most commercial fishing vessels will have to follow a strict set of guidelines called the HACCP principles (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) which is enforced by the NRCS in other fishing sectors. This body is also responsible for all testing being done and also issues our Health Certificates for fish exports with South African origin. We currently test for lead, cadmium, mercury and histamine, just to name a few. Now the skiffs/ ski boats that are currently operating are not subject to these HACCP principles than say the commercial tuna operators are. For instance these commercial line fish vessels will have no ice on board to chill their catch ensuring the absence of histamine. Their catches are offloaded into the open back of the vehicles and simply covered by a tarp. (once again no HACCP here) The truth is that whilst the public is mostly unaware of this and other similar transgressions, the imported product is in fact healthier and safer for you to consume, provided the retailers follow the HACCP guidelines and cold chain.

The regulation of the line fishing sector by the Department Of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) is somewhat inadequate when compared to other sectors such as the hake long line and tuna pole. For instance the hake long liners have to off load their catches into a factory at the expense of the operators so as the government can enforce strict controls over quotas. Whilst the hake is a quota based or Total Allowable Catch (TAC) management, the line fish and the tuna pole sectors are Total Allowable Effort (TAE) whereby the government manages this stock by looking at the total effort sustained upon the sector’s natural resources. The traditional line fishermen are afforded the luxury of estimating their catches and paying their levies in advance. I wonder how close their estimates are to the volume that’s actually being landed?

But such is the business sense not to pay higher prices for inconsistent supply when you can import a farmed product regularly and at competitive prices. It’s literally a no brainer but the consumer needs to be well informed as to what it is exactly that they are purchasing to make an informed decision. The retailers mustn't misconstrue the already price conscious consumer with wild caught promises displays of frozen farmed fish on ice. A quick simple short term solution would be to ask the fish monger at your local retailer as to what is on display. They should know and be able to inform you to make the right purchase for you at the right price accordingly.

Whilst I understand the plight of the fishermen,   as a consumer “what affects my pocket is what counts” and if they looked after their fish from their hooks to the consumer then it could be arguably a far superior product worth paying a premium for. Until this is the case, I prefer to purchase from sea frozen and farmed sources unless it hasn't been caught on board my own boat.