Squid fishing rights clash as small-scale cooperatives demand fair chance amid capitalist challenges

Squid fishing is a lucrative, capital-intensive industry dominated by large commercial operations, leaving small-scale fishers struggling to compete and fully utilise their allocated quotas. (Photo: SASMIA)

By Kara le Roux

23 Jan 2025

The South African fishing industry finds itself in murky waters as small-scale fishers and commercial operators clash over access to a lucrative resource — squid.

On 13 December 2024, the Western Cape Division of the High Court granted the South African Squid Management Industry Association leave to appeal against a ruling that allocated 15% of squid fishing rights to small-scale cooperatives.

This ruling marked the latest clash in the long-standing dispute between the association and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

A ‘historic step’ or hollow gesture?

In 2019, the department announced a landmark policy: 15% of the total allowable effort in squid fishing would go to small-scale cooperatives, with an additional 10% reserved for future allocations.

The department hailed this “a historic step forward for the transformation of the small-scale fishing sector”.

From the outset, the South African Squid Management Industry Association has contested this policy, arguing that it undermines the commercial nature of squid fishing.

“The fundamental issue is the allocation of a significant proportion of the available rights in a capital-intensive commercial fishery to small-scale cooperatives,” said Pheobius Mullins, the association’s vice-chairperson.

Dreams deferred

South Africa’s small-scale squid fisheries have long been sidelined. Under apartheid, they were excluded from resource access, with the 2019 allocation meant to address these injustices.

Randall Bentley, a squid fisherman from the Eastern Cape with a lifelong connection to the fishing industry, believes that small-scale fishers are being sidelined in favour of commercial interests.

“I’ve been in the fishing industry all my life,” he said. “Commercial squid fisheries are very capitalistic and the South African Squid Management Industry Association case spells it out. They don’t want any percentage allocated for small scale (fishermen).”

The stakes are personal for fishermen like Nolan Baartman of the Eastern Cape Khoisan cooperative.

“The 15% total allowable effort allocation to small-scale fisheries has been life-changing for many of us,” Baartman said. “But many of us still struggle to access the tools, skills, and opportunities we need to succeed.”

The cost of competition

Squid fishing is a lucrative business, dominated by industrial-scale operations. Expensive vessels stay at sea for weeks, freezing their catch for export markets.

According to Mullins, these operations require capital, infrastructure, and technical expertise beyond the reach of small-scale fishers. He argued that small-scale cooperatives lacked the capacity to independently exploit their allocations, resorting to renting commercial vessels or selling their rights to larger operators. This, he claimed, fostered “rent-seeking behaviour” rather than meaningful participation in the industry.

Fisheries and marine law consultant Judian Burk said that the labour- intensive methods required for squid fishing were well-suited to small operations, but cooperatives sought to profit from their fishing rights by selling them back to commercial fishers.

Struggling to stay afloat

“While some fishers now have access to quotas, they still lack the capital to fully capitalise on these rights,” said Carmen Mannarino, the co-director of Masifundise Development Trust, which supports small-scale fishing communities.

“This is a capital-intensive industry, and the need for equipment, such as boats, means many fishermen have to make agreements with commercial entities that have the infrastructure.”

A small-scale fisher would have to go into a partnership with an operator who had a regular squid vessel, said Professor Tony Leiman, a professor in environmental and research economics at the University of Cape Town. If they failed to do so, the squid they caught would only be usable as bait.

In some cases, small-scale fishers are still being exploited by the same commercial entities that dominate the industry.

“Fishers sometimes have to give away part of their quota because they lack the capital to fish on their own,” Mannarino said. “This means they’re still dependent on the commercial entities they’ve been trying to compete with.”

Beyond the bottom line

For Irna Senekal, a researcher at Nelson Mandela University who has written about the history and stories of small-scale fishers, the issue goes beyond economics. She believes the allocation system should balance financial realities with social equity.

Before the introduction of the small-scale fisheries policy in 2014, small-scale fishers were largely unrecognised.

“For fishers, receiving rights enabled better annual household incomes,” Senekal said. “This security of income has big implications for what financial commitments households can make.”

Stability, income, and a chance at a better future; that is what the allocation of 15% rights meant to many small-scale fishers, Senekal said.

Navigating rough waters

The fishing rights give small-scale fishers like Baartman a chance to take ownership of their work and support their families in a more meaningful way.

“The reserved 10% is a step in the right direction, but it’s frustrating how slowly things are moving,” he said. “We need faster implementation to truly feel the impact.”

According to Mannarino, the current allocation of rights has not been without flaws.

“The government needs to do much more in terms of development programmes and infrastructure to allow fishers to indeed catch their quota,” she said.

Senekal agrees.

“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment should be working with other government departments and small-scale fishers in allocating budgets and developing plans in the marine environment,” she said. “The government should ensure that its staff members are equipped and have resources to provide small-scale cooperatives.”

A divided catch

When asked about the challenges small-scale squid fishers face day to day, Bentley gave a defeated reply: “They’re so numerous… I don’t know where to start.”

Baartman said there was a lot the government could do to help small-scale fishers. He mentioned providing easier access to equipment, training, and markets, along with giving them a seat at the table when decisions were held.

“It’s hard to feel like we’re truly included when commercial companies still hold 85% of the total allowable effort,” Baartman said. “Real transformation means more than just giving us a small slice of the pie. It’s about shifting power and giving communities like ours the tools and opportunities to thrive.

“We’re not asking for handouts. We’re asking for a fair shot at building a better future.”

Despite multiple attempts and repeated deadline extensions, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment did not respond to Daily Maverick’s queries. DM

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