National Marine Week 2005: 'Protect our Marine Resources for the Benefit of all' | Western Cape Government

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National Marine Week 2005: 'Protect our Marine Resources for the Benefit of all'

13 October 2005
National Marine Week (17 - 21 October 2005) is aimed at creating awareness of South Africa's marine and coastal environment and the benefits that our coasts and oceans and its resources bring to our nation.

Our marine and coastal environments

Seas make up 70 percent of the planet's surface and around 60 percent of the earth's human population lives along the coastal zone. South Africa is bordered by two mighty oceans - the Atlantic and the Indian - both of which are characterised by individual currents, ecosystems and marine living resources.

The coast, diverse and dynamic, encompasses a multitude of ecosystems and stores a wealth of resources. Our coast is a focal area for human settlement and development and has tremendous value for commerce, recreation, culture and history.

South Africa has one of the highest coastal population densities in Africa with some of the poorest people in South Africa live on the coast and therefore poverty alleviation projects and sustainable livelihoods initiatives are important contributions to achieving sustainable coastal development.

Our seas and coast - sources of opportunity for all the people of South Africa

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, through its ongoing projects and programmes along the coast, is committed to create jobs and provide economic opportunities for coastal communities. This has to be aligned with the need to responsibly looking after our marine and coastal resources to ensure their sustainability for present and future generations.

Sustaining our marine resources

South Africa has managed its fishing resources well and has good reason to be proud of its record. Globally, our country is recognised for its effective fisheries management, and the awarded acclaimed international Marine Stewardship Council certification for the outstanding manner with which we have managed our hake fish stocks, which were on the brink of depletion in the 1970s, is testimony to this.

With a few exceptions such as line fish species and abalone, our fish stocks have been maintained over decades. The Marine Living Resources Act of 1998 outlines guidelines for sustainable management of our marine living resources, for the protection of the ecosystems and for the transformation of the fishing industry.

Restoring our seas

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Through the declaration of additional four marine protected areas (MPA's) in 2004 the total of South Africa's coastline falling within protected areas have significantly increased. Our MPA's create an important refuge for a number of fish stocks under substantial pressure and have added to our reputation as a world-leader in the conservation of marine resources.

The four new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that were declared last this year are the Aliwal Shoal, Pondoland, Bird Island Group, and Table Mountain National Park. Each of the MPAs have significant benefits for the coast. More MPA;s are intended to be declared in the future.

Protecting our marine and coastal resources

The protection of the nation's marine and coastal resources is important in ensuring the sustainable development of these precious resources. Greater emphasis is placed on co-management of fish stocks, strategic compliance partnerships and cooperation with other enforcement agencies.

In the spirit of letsema, which in practice gives expression to volunteerism, the Department has recruited honorary fishery control officers to further bolster compliance capacity.

The presence of observers on fishing vessels, as well as the vessel monitoring system (VMS) which all commercial fishing vessels are obliged to carry on board, further plays a vital role to assist the Department in its compliance measures.

Environmental courts have been opened over the past two years. The conviction rate achieved and maintained in the Hermanus environmental court for example is 75%. In the past an estimated 10% of abalone-related offences were successfully prosecuted and many cases took years to conclude. More environmental courts are planned.

South Africa remain the only country to successfully established and utilise specialised environmental courts.

Last month the Department has taken delivery of the fourth environmental protection vessel, the Victoria Mxenge . This was the last of the four vessels which were commissioned by the department. The four vessels, Sarah Baartman, Lillian Ngoyi, Ruth First and Victoria Mxenge are boosting capacity to apprehend and inspect non-compliant fishing vessels, and bolster protection measures of marine resource resources, both in- and offshore. Since the deployment of these vessels, significant results have been achieved already.

Seas of change

The South African fishing industry, that was once concentrated in the hands of a few, largely white-owned companies, has undergone an extraordinary transformation since 1994. Today, the industry has improved in terms of participation by historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs)- both I terms of ownership and management. Much of this participation is through Small medium micro enterprises (SMME's). The department remains committed to enhance the transformation of the sector.

Important to note is that subsistence fishers were subject to the regulations that governed recreational fishers and were often criminalised. Implementation of the (MLRA, 1998) for subsistence fishers confers formal rights to fishers in this fishery for the first time, and forms part of the overall transformation of fisheries in South Africa. The departmet is in the process to develop a policy for this sector.

Protecting our seas from pollution

Marine debris persists in the environment, fouling up our beautiful beaches, threatening our health and endangering marine life. Land based pollution is the most pollutant and damaging for the marine environment. Most land based pollution ends up in rivers and catchments and eventually in the sea with negative impact on our marine life. 80% of marine pollution emanates from land based sources such as pipelines, land use run-offs, storm water flowing into the sea and plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is caused when discarded plastic is carried by wind and water from inland and other marine sources. Plastic kills marine animals by entanglement, suffocation and starvation. It also causes damage to boats. Other forms of pollution include oil pollution and dumping from ships. South Africa is situated on one of the world's busiest shipping routes and has experienced many oil spills over the years.

People - the pollution solution

The responsibility of marine pollution does not rest solely with governments, shipping companies or fishing fleets. Every piece of litter that lands up on the beach was thrown away by someone- whether overboard a ship, left at the beach, dropped in the street, or flushed down a toilet, storm drain or river. People are the solution- by disposing of litter correctly, recycling, re-using and reducing plastics and collectively ensure that our beaches are kept clean by adopting beaches and have beach clean-up regularly - a nation at work to sustain our seas!

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