Unease as Midwater Trawl Fishery Worries About Desert Diamond

Companies in the midwater trawl fishery are jittery about Oceana Fishing’s permit to fish horse mackerel. In a recent incident, the MFV Desert Diamond was spotted allegedly fishing “up the West Coast” which Oceana was quick to refute. Then it emerged that in fact the vessel was fishing West of 20 degrees which opposed midwater trawl fishery participants say to the best of their knowledge is not allowed in terms of the applicable 2024 horse mackerel permit conditions – only East of 020 degrees. This is the first in a series of articles that reviews the South African midwater horse mackerel trawl fishery.