THE opinion held in some quarters that the fishing industry is neither transformed nor socially inclusive is predicated on the misconception that it serves only a few in the South African economy and that fragmentation of the industry (allocating rights to more companies) would be beneficial to all those who have been historically marginalised.The deep-sea trawl fishery for hake is SA’s most valuable commercial fishery. With annual sales of R5bn, it is a beacon for the performance and sustainability of a commercial fishery in a rapidly changing world.As the fishery continues to perform well in an international environment, where it constitutes only 2% of global whitefish catch, there is a view that the industry requires restructuring to share its successes with the rest of SA.What is absent from such positions is the real state of the fishery and its beneficial impact on the communities in which it operates and on the South African economy as a whole.Since the mid-1990s, the industr...
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