No fishing in Tsitsikamma, say more than 7 000

TSITSIKAMMA NEWS - With only a few days left for public comment on controversial plans to allow fishing in the Tsitsikamma marine protected area (MPA) there has already been an overwhelming response to the draft regulations.

More than 7 200 concerned citizens have signed a petition against the move, and so far more than 400 comments had been submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) over the issue.

The department, on November 19 last year, published draft regulations for the rezoning of sections of the MPA, which falls within the Garden Route National Park, to allow angling in the area following more than 20 years of discussions with local fishermen.

The fishermen have been campaigning for the rezoning following claims from communities that the MPA was declared more than 50 years ago without a public participation process. They say this stripped them of cultural, historical and recreational rights.

The closing date for public comment is next Monday February 1.

A pilot phase, believed to have been implemented to test the draft regulations, had in the meantime been launched on December 15, but was later terminated after a group of concerned citizens and marine conservation experts, the Friends of Tsitsikamma Association, challenged the initiative in the Pretoria High Court.

Spokesperson for the Garden Route National Park, Nandi Mgwadlamba, said the matter had been discussed at length including on social media.

She said those opposing the processes felt that opening 20% of the coastline for controlled fishing would set a precedent that could be “catastrophic for the entire country”, while locals felt their fishing rights had been stripped when the park was established in 1964 without public participation.

“Communities that had fished there for years had to stop fishing because it became a protected area. Fishermen then, like Henrico Bruiner’s father, had coached the younger generation to limit the fish they take out of the sea. This was even before scientists and the department came up with bag size limits and other measures.

Mary-Ann Mngomezulu and other locals even have recordings from various community members and their views about the process on the indigenous custodians Facebook page,” Mgwadlamba said.

Mgwadlamba said the process up to know had also been tainted by “impostors” either posing as freelance journalists while lobbying for or against the plans, or claiming to be marine scientists.

“The department and SANParks have approached the Press Council for this is against the Press Code. We are also taking the matter of a so-called SANParks scientist up who wrote an open letter to [Department of Environmental Affairs] Minister Edna Molewa.

SANParks remains convinced such a character is firstly not a scientist based on the Garden Route and also have condemned the action and support its further investigation.”

She added the department was comfortable they had met with all interest groups.

“Once all the comments are in by the February 1, Molewa will make a decision. We expect this will be before June 2016.”

In the meantime the Friends of Tsitsikamma Association spokesperson Judy Mann said they trusted that Molewa would take into consideration all the comments submitted before arriving at her decision.

The group’s main concerns are the potential damage to fish populations as research have shown that many fish species are resident, slow growing and will be rapidly fished down to levels similar to those found outside the park.