Small-Scale Fishing Ubuntuism and Regulatory Policy Implementation Issues

The way in which small-scale fishers perceive, define, “own” and defend their inshore grounds or their “sea tenure” is one of the most significant “discoveries” to emerge from the years of research in maritime anthropology even if this is nothing new to the fishers.

We have to recognise that in the past stemming from apartheid times, governments committed a grave injustice by setting aside natural resources of this country for a privileged few, some through means of corrupt practices that constituted “legalised” theft of fishing community’s rights.

The country needed to follow an alternative development path that is not based on the exploitation of people’s labour, political connections, social standing and the depletion of our resources, but rather one that is sufficiently sustainable, equitable and just.