The Water Research Commission (WRC) executive manager of water utilisation in agriculture Dr Gerhard Backeberg is convinced that subsistence fishing can certainly provide improved food security and better livelihoods for many communities, but warns that increasing levels of conflict between recreational anglers and communities fishing for their livelihoods can lead to problems.

He drew this conclusion from the evidence contained in a four-year baseline and scoping study on the development and sustainable utilisation of storage dams for inland fisheries and their contribution to rural livelihoods, which was completed in January.

The report found that there were currently three sustainable uses for inland fisheries in South Africa – recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing.

As the three activities competed for resources, this could lead to conflict if property rights were not explicitly recognised and enforced. “If the rules of the game are not clear, it could lead to conflict, and this needs to be clarified.

“As documented in the report, the conflict between recreational fishers and subsistence fishers already come to a head at specific dams, and the authorities at provincial or national level will have to intervene. Some way of co-existence will have to be found,” noted Backeberg in a media release on Tuesday.

He pointed out that those who were better organised would always win -and this seemed to be the recreational fishers – but stressed that there were others, in particular subsistence fishers, who needed to be given the opportunity to improve their livelihoods.

If South Africa intended to establish an industry based on inland fisheries, the WRC advised that the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) needed to draw up a clear policy to manage and regulate the country’s resources. “At the moment, such policies do not exist,” highlighted the commission.

However, the WRC believed its report on the sustainable use of inland fisheries in South Africa would provide guidelines to assist the DAFF in establishing appropriate policies.

The WRC launched the directed research project to provide a knowledge base to inform the development of policy and institutional arrangements for inland fishery governance in response to the absence of an equitable inland fishing governance framework with defined use rights.

This had resulted in growing unmanaged and unsustainable fishing practices, conflicts between resource users and the perpetuation of past exclusion of rural communities from livelihood and economic opportunities linked to aquatic natural resources.

The WRC explained that South Africa’s inland fishery resource endowment had been overlooked as a means of supporting sustainable livelihoods in the democratic era and, therefore, lacked a guiding policy and legislation aligned with the country’s rights-based Constitution.

Government was, however, keen to set up an inland fisheries industry, with Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, previously stating that the establishment of an inland fisheries industry was key to food security and marine conservation.

However, only angling for recreational purposes and subsistence fishing seemed to be viable options in the creation of an inland fisheries industry, as the resources for a commercial inland fishing industry were too limited, according to the WRC study.

“The tonnage of fish is just not there,” added Backeberg. Using a geographic information system model to identify regions that had high potential for fisheries, the researchers who undertook the WRC project, estimated that large South African dams had a production potential of only 15 000 t.

In comparison, South Africa’s marine fishery industry yielded 600 000 t/y. “The relatively low production potential of South African inland water bodies, thus, precludes the development of industrial or large-scale commercial fisheries on inland waters,” the report states.

Except for a small number of communities, South Africa lacked a traditional fishing culture. However, owing to the introduction of fish species such as carp and trout, a strong and organised recreational fishing sector had developed.

Recreational fishing, with its strong links to the tourism industry, was by far the most economically viable option for growing the inland fisheries industry. It was estimated that more than 1.5-million people were involved in recreational angling in South Africa, while angling was recognised and organised as a sport through official sports bodies.

A 2007 study by the South African Deep Sea Angling Association estimated that an average affiliated angler spent around R7 500 a year on fishing and the economic impact of these anglers was about R900-million a year.

Since the 1990s, however, the number of subsistence fishers had increased.

As such, government’s role was to clarify access rights, establish effective regulations and guidelines for comanagement and governance of inland fisheries. Without a clear policy and framework, the competition for the limited resources could lead to increasing problems, not only for the communities making a living from fishing but also for South Africa’s natural resources and biodiversity.

The report suggested that the DAFF should promote cooperative governance with other departments and public-sector agencies with mandates relevant to inland fisheries governance.

“The DAFF should formulate the policies, look at instruments that are available to use, such as the National Environmental Management Act, and assess if it is adequate to manage the resources. If it isn’t, then specific legislation and strategies for implementation will be required.

“Through the evidence provided by this study, the DAFF now has a well-researched framework, which should be seriously considered for application,” advised Backeberg.