Cape Town-based I&J has expanded its fleet with the addition of the Ferox and Umlobi fishing vessels as part of a R0.5-billion investment; the largest in the South African fishing industry in the last 25 years, states the company.

“This investment highlights I&J’s commitment to both its current and future employees, aligning well with government’s job creation objectives, in addition to the Operation Phakisa objective, focused on unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans,” I&J notes in a statement.

The investment will not only support existing jobs, the replacement of ageing vessels and processing technology, but will also see the creation of 75 new jobs in the Western Cape by adding modern fishing vessel capacity and technology to the I&J fleet.

An AVI subsidiary and South Africa’s oldest deep-sea Cape hake fishing business, the company says the investment demonstrates I&J and its shareholders’ recognition that material investment is necessary in this complex, vertically integrated industry. It also reflects I&J’s confidence and belief in the Cape hake fishing industry, the company adds.

The investment includes the purchase of theFerox, a 45-m-long, deep-sea fishing trawler for R150-million; the acquisition of the 66-m-long freezer factory ship, Umlobi, for R255-million; as well as a R67-million upgrade of I&J’s Woodstock processing facility, in Cape Town, where the daily Cape hake catch is converted into product for both domestic and international markets.
Ferox, a newly built wet-fish vessel, is a 910 gross ton stern trawler, capable of fast turnarounds and delivering fresh fish to the V&A Waterfront for further processing at Woodstock.

Umlobi, I&J’s new flagship vessel, was one of the top performing Norwegian fishing vessels prior to its sale to I&J, states the company. The 2 600 gross ton fishing trawler is able to catch and process all fish on board, producing the internationally respected Cape hake frozen-at-sea fillets.

I&J MD Jonty Jankovich-Besan explains that I&J was a pioneer in the attainment of the demanding Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability certification of the Cape hake fishery back in 2004, which had since been recertified twice, most recently in May 2015. “Over the last 12 years, the deep-sea fishing industry has collaborated effectively with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and scientific and mathematical experts, ensuring [that it mneets] the stringent MSC audit demands.

“This collaboration has been key, as the MSC sustainability certification allows access to high-value, sophisticated international markets, which, in turn, supports the investment in both these expensive physi- cal assets and, very importantly, its employees.”

I&J currently employs 1 900 staff, who convert all the I&J catch off the South African coastline into finished product. No raw material is exported for further reprocessing, as is common in many other fishing industries.