Policy on the Allocation and Management of Commercial Fishing Rights in the Hake Longline Fishery: 2021.

This policy on the allocation and management of commercial fishing rights in the Hake Longline fishery is issued by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and must be read in conjunction with the General Policy on the allocation of commercial fishing rights: 2021. This Policy provides for: sector profile, including: description, history and management of the fishery; long-term fishing rights allocation process. Concerning the objectives, this Policy recognises the need to ensure the optimal, long-term and justifiable use of marine living resources, in order to achieve sustainable development of the fishing sector and an inclusive level of economic growth and to to create sustainable employment consistent with National Government’s development objectives. Specific objectives regard: 1) widening access to the longline fishery to the extent possible, while minimising economic disruption (including employment, and specifically job losses) to the existing fishery; 2) promotion of transformation through efficient allocation of fishing rights to historically disadvantaged persons and widening their meaningful participation; 3) promotion of the interests of applicants who rely heavily on the Hake Longline sector; 4) promotion of local economic development through encouraging investments in processing and marketing infrastructure in areas that are economically depressed; 5) promotion of meaningful participation in the fishery by all Right Holders and elimination of paper quotas through discouraging restrictive catch and/or joint venture agreements; 6) promotion of job creation and retention
Matters covered by this Policy concern: granting of fishing rights, including: form of right holder, duration of rights, total allowable catch and total applied effort allocation, transfer of rights allocated in terms of this Policy; evaluation criteria, including: exclusionary criteria (compliance, paper quotas, fronting and non-utilisation), comparative balancing criteria (transformation, reliance on the fishery, compliance, fishing performance, investment, access to suitable vessels, local economic development, multiple sector involvement, relationship with applicants, benefits to South African society, job creation, payment of levies); quantum allocation methodology; new applicants; application and grant of rights fees; provisional lists, representations and consultations; appeals; management measures; permits, monitoring and evaluation; contraventions.