Traditional Fishing Communities Cast Out as Conservation Turns Commercial

You just have to visit the iSimangaliso Wetland Park website to see that it has massive commercial appeal as an ecotourism destination of international acclaim. It is also home to many traditional fishing communities that have customary and/or small-scale rights to fish in the area but who are feeling cast out.

In May 2020, the small-scale fishing communities of Nibela, Mabibi and Nkundusi formally asked the Minister and officials of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to please talk to senior managers of iSimangaliso and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

Their issue was, and still is, that they believe they are not able to use the right and authority to fish their traditional fishing grounds as recognised by the Minister. This they say is because of the ongoing harassment by iSimangaliso and Ezemvelo rangers.

All they want is to fish so they can feed their families.

“These rangers have no respect for our rights and are not allowing us to fish at all,” they say. “We are continually harassed and chased away and in some instances they confiscate our fishing gear.”