Enviro Minister must publically account for fee increases in the fishing sector
The planned increases for rights, permits and licences in the various fisheries are exorbitant and unjustifiable. The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs has published these increases for public comment in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act. The already hard pressed South African consumer, facing massive tariff increases for electricity and airport taxes among other things, will now be burdened by fee increases in the commercial and recreational fishing sectors that in some cases are higher than 400%. In the context of a turf war playing out in Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) over the extent of the transfer of functions to the Department of Agriculture, many fishers and recreational users of our oceans are losing faith in the ability of government to manage our fisheries and costal environment.
Rather than just engage through written comment the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs must sit down face to face with the representatives of the various sectors and explain why the increases are justified.
There are more than 70 planned tariff adjustments for application fees, and fees for permits and licences across a range of activities. The proposed hike for a recreational fisher who wants to catch lobster is from R85 to R500. A recreational angling licence moves from R65 to R200 and spearfishing licences increase in price from R75 to R300. The SCUBA diving community also faces significant increases.
While one might argue that some of the original fees were too low, the rapid increases in fee prices are not accompanied by any justification and methodology from the Minister. Further, it is questionable whether the fee payer gets any value in return for their fees. The fees for permits and licences provide income for the Marine Living Resources Fund, which in turn administers compliance and research along our coastline. While the Fund in the last financial year achieved an unqualified audit opinion, it remains inefficient and stakeholders have no say in how the fees collected are used. The focus should be on the efficient use of income, rather than massively increasing income to cover inefficiencies in management and spending.
There are a number of questions which the Minister and her officials in MCM need to answer. If satisfactory answers are not provided then the fee increases must be scrapped and the Minister must go back to the drawing board.
MCM must give the public an explanation of what they hope to achieve by this dramatic increase in permit fees. Most notably, can we be assured that the MCM will fulfill all of its functions to an acceptable standard and will it improve ongoing engagement with stakeholders in the spirit of co-management of our marine resources?
MCM must produce a peer-reviewed study to publicly set out the full research, methodology and conclusions that justify the proposed increases.
MCM must produce a proper financial assessment that will stand up to public scrutiny as to the impact the increases will have on job losses and sustainable livelihoods in all the sectors directly or indirectly linked to the fishing economy. For example, if the fee increases decrease the number of people who participate in SCUBA diving or recreational angling, what will be the effect on suppliers of equipment, vehicles and other services? With regards specifically to fee increases in the commercial sectors the Minister needs to tell us whether the industry will remain sustainable and internationally competitive.
Lastly, has MCM considered the effect fee increases will have on illegal fishing? Most fishers have no problem being licenced, but if it becomes wholly unaffordable they may resort to illegal fishing. The Minister must surely know that many very poor people use recreational permits to fish for their main source of food. The fee increases may very well turn some law abiding citizens into transgressors of the law.
I will be submitting these questions to the Minister in Parliament. I urge the Minister however to answer these questions, and the other concerns of stakeholders in public forums in the interim.
Statement issued by Gareth Morgan, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of water and environmental affairs, February 11 2010
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