Step Aside, Not Set Aside Tina

With the recent news regarding Tina Joemat-Pettersson's decision to have the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (2013 FRAP) outcomes set aside is a welcomed one. At a first glance it would be evidently clear that she was merely biding her time to secure the ANC votes and only announced her decision until after the outcome of our general and national elections. She did this to ensure that those who benefited (refer to my "choms and comrades" in previous blogs to understand about whom I am referring to) voted for the ruling party. Now that that farce is a thing of the past its business as usual (yawn - different year, same synopsis, same characters- its almost like a sitcom series that should have ended a while ago but the plot evolves to such an extent where everyone has jumped into bed with each other and now also their offspring [Bold And The Beautiful].)

So with votes cast and tallied, Tina has now set aside the entire process after an audit that she commissioned. Industry is still awaiting news from DAFF as to what exactly is the due process and steps that would need to be followed and complied with? Needless to say it is a step in the right direction after having stepped on those hardworking taxpayers who have and run legitimate businesses that DAFF saw unfit to award a fishing right? With their 2013/2014 season now having missed out on the best fishing (January/ February), they now find themselves scratching their heads in amazement that after all this they would have barely have gotten themselves out of the red. Should they have not been grounded by this unfair process, they would have been business as usual but rather now they could potentially find themselves in a situation where financial assistance might be necessary in order for them to survive the winter months.

But my issue is rather one concerning foresight and the whole consultative process with industry. Those long drawn out yes sir no sir meetings, albeit in the end rather fruitless were all in vein. If DAFF had noted all of industry's concerns regarding the process then possibly needless to say this whole debacle could have been avoided?

Secondly my issue further extends to the fact that numerous boat owners have been forced by DAFF's actions to resort to catching agreements and have had to pay a catching fee to a paper right holder providing income to those comrades of mine. Does the minister intend on setting those catching fees aside and refunding the average Joe Fisherman? Then also don't get me started on those missed tonnages during January and February as previously mentioned! 

So with DAFF now having to revert to ye old drawing board, industry is left waiting for the official announcement regarding the interim relief.

We, The People’s DDG Support Group Striking….A Pose/Protest

Not too long ago in a land far far away…actually in Hout Bay which at times can be considered just that, there was a mighty gathering of concerned citizens. At a glance from over the magical mountain in the picturesque valley all did not appear well. The humble citizens were up in arms over the recent axing of their savior, a one Desmond Stevens.

At 10 am one good morning after having offloaded the hake long liner, Valhalla there was an almighty commotion at the entrance to the harbor. Ten taxis had systematically with military precision managed to block the entrance.  The number plates were all from CAM - Caledon & Kleinmond, Cape Province. It seems that the event organisers arranged a “protest for hire” when all the concerned citizens filed out the taxis and gathered along Harbor Road to dance, shout, scream and do all things necessary and ancillary for a good ol toi toi. Fashioning their ANC flags and Zuma T shirts, the mob was well and truly adequately dressed. But were they? The message being broadcast aloud by the bull horn was that of a conflicting story of how the ruling party mustn't turn their backs and ignore this small law abiding community and the pending promises. While the hired help seemed to go about their business of toi toing, the community who were actually up in arms at this stage soon realised their embarrassing mistake and soon the ANC flags were dropped and ushered to the rear.  The reasons for this formal gathering of sorts was to voice their disapproval of the axing of their comrade Desmond Stevens, who promised the local community an avenue for which to voice their opinions to actively engaged the Department. Well you see, it turns out that they were requesting free quotas I mean, how much more perlemoen and crayfish do you want unlevied i.e. free? Anyways, as a historical fishing community they are ENTITLED to free quotas to go forth and do as their father’s father’s you name it had done and actively fish...according to the long grey haired rusta with the bull horn.

What a fantastic idea and concept?! If this is the case then why am I not ENTITLED to half of Cape Town Harbor? My Great Great Grandfather was the original port’s captain/ harbor master. Surely I should be allowed to claim half of the V&A Waterfront? With the sands of time comes about change and with change (expedited for those of the previously disadvantaged) since 1994, those who were ENTITLED enough got their own whilst the gettings good? When will the statutes of limitation end here?

To add to the general over all convoluted concept of this gathering, the langaanas arrived and joined in on the action to protest as they want to enforce that a portion of all hake landed in this harbor is to be sold to the “locals.” The problem with this is that due to the ANC granting quotas to their choms and comrades in South Western Township, there are those who merely catch the quotas for their holders who are land locked. As is the case with the Valhalla, they are merely vessel owners and don’t have a single kilogram of hake to their names. The right holder can insist as to where the hake is to sold and offloaded too which is the case with some. So as much as I support their particular cause, we would like to sell hake to the informal non vat registered cash traders, but alas we have to obey the wishes of our comrades.

Meanwhile stuck and stranded inside the confines of the harbor fence were numerous trucks and bakkies laden with fresh fish of all sorts including an airfreight cargo truck collecting tuna to be hastily hauled to the airport to meet the respective deadline for export. But just like this truck stood idle, so did the various tour operator buses and vans who with their international tourists were forced in having their Cape Peninsula Tour cut short. In fact one particular tour operator had to have transported the tourists to the airport to meet their flight check in time of 3 pm… needless to say I’m sure they were upset to say the least.

So with the bull horn being passed around like the proverbial hot potato, the messages were becoming even more confusing so I took it upon myself to investigate this inconvenience. In doing so I managed to retrieve a flyer that was being passed through car windows of passer byes. A copy of the flyer is here below for you to read further, but to summarise it for you it contains the following:

Due to the white controlled media, the murmurings, rumours and “white noise” ultimately cost Desmond his position. I wonder if they have ever heard of one Dr. Igbal Surve and a little concern of his called Sekunjalo Independent Media Consortium (SIM)? This ANC stalwart is the majority shareholder of The Independent News Papers who recently at will axes editor’s and senior staff, etc who portrays himself, his company and the ANC in any bad light or disrepute. So not sure who needs to check up on their facts here but I guess the author of the flyer needs Google to clarify his “white noise comment.”

But what I found interesting and a point that warrants further investigating is why Inspector Levie had locked the rear harbour entrance (closest to Snookies)? Needless to say, Tina Joemat-Pettersen didn't arrive as requested by the DDG Support Group who were by now becoming more tired than restless and promptly at 4 pm the taxis loaded their paying fare and departed the scene. Community policing did nothing but stare and pose for the local journalists. Only the hard working small to medium businesses were affected here and if I hadn't written about this then I too probably would have forgotten about that day in a place over the hill far far away when my day was wasted.

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?