South Africa Misses USD 153.7 Mio Tuna Bounty ff

The domestic South African tuna fishing industry could be worth R1 billion a year, (equivalent to USD 153.7 million) but a lack of specialized skills and appropriate vessels means foreign ships operate in South African waters and pay only R250 000 (USD 38,500) a year to the country for the privilege.

South African tuna is highly sought after, especially in Japan, where sushi is a star feature of its cuisine.

According to Chris Hamel, a tuna boat operator and exporter, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna has granted South Africa a quota of 1,200 tons for swordfish, while the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna has allowed South Africa to catch 40 tons of southern bluefin tuna. An indication of prices these fish fetch can be found in the Tokyo tuna market report. On August 13 and 14, for example, 12 South African big eye tuna were on offer. The highest price paid for one of these fish was USD 7,000 (R46 550), higher than prices fetched by Japanese and New Zealand tuna. The average price was USD 3,610 and the lowest price was USD 2,000; only two fish were left unsold.

At the same auction six South African southern bluefin tuna were up for sale. The highest price for a fish was USD 5,000 and the lowest was USD 2,800, with an average price of USD 3,933.

A Japanese bluefin tuna fetched the highest price of USD 5,300. The lowest price was USD 1,300, with an average price of USD 3,241. Of the 115 fish on offer, 55 were not bought.

Close behind was a New Zealand southern bluefin tuna, which sold for USD 5,200. The average price was USD 4,114 and the lowest price paid was USD 2,500. All seven fish were sold.

The following day four South African big eye tuna were on offer. The top price was USD 5,700, the average was USD 4,550 and the lowest price was USD 4,000. All the fish were snapped up.

In the 1970s the Taiwanese and Japanese fleets dominated the local tuna fishing industry, with up to 200 vessels operating under bilateral agreements in South African waters at any one time.

”At that time South Africa leased out its waters to foreigners and there was no South Africanization and no South African participation,” said Craig Smith, a fisheries manager with Marine and Coastal Management (MCM). “South Africa did not manage or control those vessels. We will, however, not enter into that kind of arrangement in the future.”

Those bilateral agreements were terminated at the end of January 2003, leaving the South African industry adrift as the foreign vessels left with their expertise and specialized fishing vessels. These vessels were purpose designed, sat low in the water and could immediately freeze catches to minus 60°C for the export market.

The irony, according to Shaheen Moolla, a director of Feike, a marine regulatory law and environmental management advisory firm, is that when a total of 43 commercial rights for swordfish and other tuna species were allocated between December 2004 and January 2005, it became clear that the South African rights holders lacked the skills to locate, track and harvest tuna and swordfish in any significant numbers. They also did not have access to the most lucrative markets in Japan and the US, he said.

According to Smith, foreign-flagged vessels - two Korean, two Filipino and eight Japanese - are now back in South African waters, this time with the government’s blessing.

”As a result of our incapacity we have allowed, for an interim period, rights holders to enter into joint ventures with foreign-flagged vessel owners. If after a year they want to carry on fishing, they can only do so on condition that they will reflag that vessel to South Africa and submit a reflagging schedule as well as a skills transfer schedule to the department of environmental affairs and tourism,” Smith said.

Hamel said 20 joint ventures had been formed between local rights holders and foreign vessel owners on condition that they reflagged their vessels and established an entity that would contribute to the South Africanization of the industry.

He said the one-year trial period was not workable because it was unrealistic to expect foreign vessel owners to reflag their ships and be restricted to South African waters after a year.

Tim Redell, a director of Selecta Seafood, said while transformation of the fishing industry was necessary, rights had been awarded to people who did not have the skills, capabilities or capacity to catch tuna.

Had they entered into joint ventures with existing rights holders they would have had to become involved but instead they chose to enter into joint ventures with foreign vessel owners in exchange for a guaranteed annual quota use fee.