The International Ocean Institute – Southern Africa (IOI-SA), in consultation with various stakeholders involved in the small-scale fisheries sector, recognise the need for enhancing stakeholder coordination in support of the Policy for the Small-Scale Fisheries Sector and its effective implementation in South Africa. The establishment of the small-scale fishing sector is in line with government’s Nine Point Plan to boost the economy by unlocking the potential of co-operatives, linking to Operation Phakisa, and increasing sales in the agro-processing sector and thereby increasing employment opportunities in rural fishing communities. To this end, IOI-SA coordinated and facilitated a half day workshop that invited stakeholders to better understand what role they can play in partnering with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in establishing the small-scale fishing sector.
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In 2012 and 2014, the Department of Mineral Resources granted three prospecting rights for marine phosphate covering approximately 10% of South Africa’s exclusive economic zone. In response to concerns that unsustainable bulk marine sediment mining will soon be authorised in South Africa, a group of organisations formed the Safeguard our Seabed Coalition. Since 2015 the Safeguard our Seabed Coalition, of which the International Ocean Institute – Southern Africa is a member, has been pursuing a moratorium on bulk marine sediment mining in South Africa.