Half of SA’s commercial fishing stocks are ‘in trouble’
Half of the commercially exploited fish stocks in SA are overexploited and in decline, Parliament heard on Tuesday. Fish stocks such as yellowfin tuna, abalone and west coast rock lobster were "in trouble", officials from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. They were briefing MPs on the 2016 report on the state of SA’s fisheries resources. According to the report, of the 49 fish stocks assessed, 50% are "in trouble". SA’s fisheries sector is worth about R7bn a year and directly employs, in the commercial sector, about 27,000 people. Thousands of people depend on fisheries resources for food and as a source of income to meet basic needs. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says the importance of maintaining or even increasing the yields from these fisheries by sustainable harvesting and the recovery of depleted stocks is therefore of paramount importance. According to the report presented to MPs on Tuesday, abalone — a sea snail sometimes ref...
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