Proposed Marine Protection Area's To Close Up Shop For Large Pelagic Fisherman

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) are moving forward with the proposed new Marine Protection Areas which is a follow on from the 2011 MPA Project. The majority of the funding for this project will be  provided through the Greentrust (a partnership between WWF and Nedbank).  Additional funds for project co-ordination were provided by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

 The Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF) provided data for fisheries effort, catch and bycatch data and data to support ecosystem based management of fisheries. Various other scientists and interested bodies participated with the submission and interpretation of the data collected.  

When SANBI set about the MPA process, they had to select a mechanism to assess the effect of the MPA on industry, and settled on fishing effort per area. It would have made more sense to use actual "Rands and Cents."  The cost effect of effort can be confounded by seasonal changes and species types. A useful example may be found in fishing for Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT). Actual effort on SBT might be low as the fish are only present for a part of the year and in discreet locations. Raw effort data would show that SBT grounds are of low value or "cost".  However, the "Rands and Cents" costs might actually be huge. A parallel can be drawn  at the time of compiling these reports (majority being done during 2011), when the albacore tuna price was much lower than what it is at today's rate (highest rate per kilogram in the history of the South African tuna fishery). The cost of this fishery has more than tripled in comparison to the reports data logged back then.

Other issues that I am not able to understand is how they would propose to close an area to pelagic longline and tuna pole and leave it open to south coast rock lobster or linefishing. South Coast rock lobster traps are set on the bottom of the sea floor. These traps remove south coast rock lobster and some other marine life from the ecosystem and and the effect of dragging a string of pots along the bottom can be notably significant. The large pelagic fishing methods for tuna (longline and pole & line) only effect the upper layer of the ocean, ie the surface and up to 80 fathoms (possibly deeper). The proposed closures are to protect species and their breeding grounds such as the SASSI orange listed kingklip and to provide sanctuaries for species such as the blue shark. Similarly linefish has a list of prescribed species but the mortality on other species is significant. Linefishing techniques involve sending a lure to the bottom and working it up the surface. Most fish species with a swim bladder caught in deeper water and released will have a significant post release mortality. 

These effects that are permitted challenge the rationality of excluding pelagic longlining and pole & line for tuna. It is possible that it was excluded because of a sense that large pelagics takes place on a greater scale then that can be resolve through other mechanisms that are less drastic than a hard MPA.

Should the DEA successfully gazette these MPA's, then this will effectively shut off productive fishing grounds for the tuna fishermen. As the tuna are migratory species, our fishing method for targeting these tunas are to follow the shoals along our coast line for the the limited time of the season that they found to be present. Industry is busy with the consultative process with government challenging their proposal within reason. Needless to say then dealing with government, the wheels turn ever so slowly...

Below is a map indicating the various MPA's proposed by government:

Below is a table showing the offshore biodiversity protection including key objectives, stakeholders & management consideration:

South African Albacore Price Trend

Over the past few years, the South African albacore catches have been erratic and irregular which is to be expected as this specie is a highly migratory fish with demand at an all time high. 

Basic economics will explain that the price for a commodity is ultimately regulated by that of supply and demand. So we have supply, which is how many tons of tuna we catch, and demand, which is how much tuna people want. Put the two together, and you have  the basic rationale of supply and demand. The albacore price is best illustrated by the demand curve. In economics, the demand curve is the graph depicting the relationship between the price of a certain commodity and the amount of it that consumers are willing and able to purchase at that given price. Essentially, the lower the volume of albacore caught, the higher the price the canneries are willing to pay.

Various factors will effect either the demand and or supply simultaneously. Factors such as; rate of catches/ landings, exchange rate fluctuations, global catches, competition and time to name a few.

The South African albacore supply is mainly caught by pole and line vessels and thus the below graph illustrates the pole and line price accordingly for frozen whole round form. The local supply of frozen albacore has another yet very important factor determining the volumes as a portion of the fleet of vessels are outfitted towards fresh quality catches by slurring on-board. This fresh albacore which is exported in whole round form via air freight to mostly Spain and other countries within the EU, fetches a slightly higher return than the frozen price. This ranges between R2 to R6 per kg above the frozen albacore price.

The price today for albacore has reached the R30 per kg mark with the current trend for it to continue its upward increase. However, as explained in economics, the ceiling price will not be to far off which will prove to difficult and the determining factor which will set the highest price possible for the past 2 decades. The most crucial factor here is that of the frozen cooked albacore loin price. With whole round tuna, the importers in the EU have zero duties to pay above and beyond the sale price. However, with cooked loins, there are duties between 22-24% depending. With the price for albacore being this high, soon the canneries will overlook the import costs of loins to ensure continued supply. This will shift their preference to cooked loins until the whole round albacore price stabilizes at a lower more affordable price level and also guaranteeing a steady volume of supply.

For the interim, the local vessel owners will enjoy the current respite that the high prices offer although the diesel price is set to increase substantially next month and catches still remain slow. The high returns will negate the low catch rates until a shift in the global market occurs. Currently there are issues in Indonesia with red flagging of tuna exports from this country supposedly due to IUU practices which will starve the market just long enough for the price to remain high. The New Zealand albacore season has started or has it? Its been poor like ours but the size grading of their catches have been around the 3 kg whole round range. For a smaller fish you receive smaller yields, which in turn effects the profitability therefore receiving a lower price.