Marine resources, in particular the fishing industry, continue to play a major role in sustaining South Africa’s economy and social development and contribute to employment and security of the local community. Historically, the allocation of fishing rights was conferred upon predominantly white-owned commercial companies by the South African apartheid government. However, with the advent of democracy in 1994, the government had the responsibility to draft a fisheries policy that would aim to redress historical imbalances and this resulted in the introduction of the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998. This dissertation aims critically to analyse whether this statute has been successful in remedying the issue of unequal fishing rights amongst commercial, subsistence, recreational and artisanal fishers. In undertaking this, an evaluation of the several policies that are attached to this statute will be presented and comments will be made in relation to the constitutional and political aspects of this subject. Allied to this, there will be a consideration of how international law influences the introduction of statutes relating to marine living resources. The main approach for this dissertation has been a literature review which included the use of both electronic databases and books available in libraries. The research shows that in spite of the enactment of the Marine Living Resources Act of 1998, artisanal fishers or small-scale fisheries continue to face discrimination and large commercial fisheries continue to dominate the industry. A Small-Scale Fisheries Policy was adopted in June 2012 to remedy the situation but there is currently no implementation plan in place. The major issue however is that the Act itself does not provide a definition for small-scale fishing and it would therefore have to be amended, in order to accommodate this category. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This thesis examines small-scale rural fisheries which were initiated in two villages by the Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries in conjunction with the Institute of Social and Economic Research in 1997. The main objective for undertaking the study was to determine the potential of the fisheries to serve as viable and sustainable options that could contribute towards rural development in the area of study. To examine the contribution made by the small-scale fisheries towards rural development in the villages, it is imperative to have an understanding of the context in which they were established as well as the prospects for sustainable development. It is argued in this study that despite the significant contribution made by inland rural fisheries in improving rural livelihoods they are still accorded minimal support and attention in South Africa. As an illustration of the important role played by rural fisheries, case studies from Malawi and Zimbabwe have been drawn into the study with a view to providing lessons for rural areas of South Africa. The study took place at a time when natural resources in the villages were significantly declining and environmental degradation reaching uncontrollable proportions, so there is an urgent need to secure an alternative mode of subsistence for the population in the villages. Development interventions by the state and non-governmental organisations in the study area have not been sustainable and they collapsed within a short period of time. A case in point is the Tyefu irrigation scheme, which was initiated in the villages but, owing to various factors, it failed leaving the villagers with a diminished mode of subsistence, thus providing the impetus for the implementation of small-scale rural fisheries. In order for small-scale fisheries to be sustainable it is essential to adopt models that are aimed at sound natural resource use and management. This study has raised various issues pertinent to natural resource use and management in the study area. A model for management of natural resources that involves and aims to empower local communities in the management of the fisheries is presented in the study. It has also been demonstrated that rural fisheries in the study area comply with the model. Finally, the study draws the conclusion that small-scale fisheries in the villages contribute towards rural development, however, there are constraints that need to be eradicated.

This thesis presents a first analysis of how the South African fisheries authority (MCM) has utilised its fisheries management toolbox and governance framework in response to the emerging biological, economic and social challenges of post-apartheid fisheries in the Eastern Cape Province. Despite recognition of the socio-economic circumstances of traditional subsistence fishers in the region, the national fisheries management authority implemented a 'target resource orientated' management approach similar to that used for South Africa's rights-based commercial fisheries. Anecdotal evidence of entrenched illegal fishing for abalone, spiny lobster, and species targeted by subsistence fishers however suggested that MCM's management approach was encountering serious problems, as the needs and circumstances of inshore fishers and fishing communities were not adequately being understood and addressed. A review of fisheries management literature therefore shaped the hypothesis that an underlying governance problem was responsible for the symptoms of management failure being observed. In this regard, management is seen as more concerned with the technical and regulatory measures of the day-to-day operations of regulated fisheries, while fisheries governance needs to take account of "the sum of legal, social, economic and political arrangements used to manage fisheries ... ". Thus, governance includes policy making and management decision-making, with simultaneous recognition of issues outside of the fisheries sector. It thus appeared that the underlying problem was rather one of broader fisheries governance and inappropriate governance objectives with consequent inappropriate resource management arrangements. This thesis set out to gather evidence to test this hypothesis.