Review of the causes of the rise of the illegal South African abalone fishery and consequent closure of the rights-based fishery

The rise of organised illegal fishing and trade in abalone from the late 1990s destabilised South Africa’s historically stable, quota-managed fishery, culminating in its closure in 2008. The development of the fishery is described in a historical context, including the evolution of South Africa’s sc...

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Veröffentlicht in:Ocean & coastal management 2011-06, Vol.54 (6), p.433-445
Hauptverfasser: Raemaekers, Serge, Hauck, Maria, Bürgener, Markus, Mackenzie, Angus, Maharaj, Genevieve, Plagányi, Éva E., Britz, Peter J.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The rise of organised illegal fishing and trade in abalone from the late 1990s destabilised South Africa’s historically stable, quota-managed fishery, culminating in its closure in 2008. The development of the fishery is described in a historical context, including the evolution of South Africa’s science-based abalone fishery management system. The diverse suite of responses deployed to combat illegal fishing and the black market trade in abalone are reviewed, including;- fishery reform to expand rights to a greater number of previously disadvantaged fishers, a territorial user rights fishery (TURF) system, special compliance operations and courts, the CITES listing of abalone, and the serial reduction in the TAC, culminating in the controversial and legally contested closure of the fishery. The main causes of the rise of the illegal fishery are diagnosed as 1) the massive increase in the abalone price that occurred in the 1990s triggering an abalone fishing “gold-rush” and 2) the failure of the post-Apartheid fishery reform process to accommodate many traditional fishers in a legal fishing rights framework resulting in them operating outside the formal fishery management system. By contextualising the abalone fishery as a complex system, embedded in South Africa’s socio-political setting, we show how the resource focussed fishery management system did not have the capacity to incorporate the powerful social, political and economic drivers determining fisher behaviour. We conclude with the need to revisit South Africa’s abalone fishery management paradigm, and argue that a more integrated governance approach is required that takes into account the biological, socio-political and economic factors determining the fishery activities. ► A stable, resource focussed management system was not able to successfully respond to powerful political and economic forces. ► A black market trade has developed that positioned South Africa as one of the largest exporters of wild abalone. ► Interactions between the rights holders, the traditional small-scale fishers and the organised black market networks are significant and complex. ► Political will, from both the state and the coastal communities, has yet to converge, but may be the most significant challenge to the potential re-opening of a viable fishery.
ISSN:0964-5691
1873-524X
DOI:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2011.02.001