NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 1552
Question 1552 for written reply: National Assembly, Mr P van Dalen (DA) to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
(1) Whether the Government has accredited the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) certification programme; if not, why not; if so,
(2) whether her department coordinates compliance of the MSC's certification requirements for the hake trawl industry; if not, why not; if so, how was this conclusion reached;
(3) whether her department enforces the MSC's requirements of placing independent observers on hake fishing trawlers to ensure compliance; if not, why not; if so, how many observers have been placed on hake fishing trawlers since January 2012;
(4) whether failure to place independent observers on hake fishing trawlers will compromise the hake trawl fishery's MSC certification for (a) harvesting hake and (b) entry to European markets; if not, how was this conclusion reached; if so, what measures has her department implemented to ensure compliance;
(5)(a) what was the gross revenue generated for South African hake to European markets (i) for the (aa) 2009-10, (bb) 2010-11 and (cc) 2011-12 financial years and (ii) from 1 April 2012 up to the latest specified date for which information is available and (b) how many jobs are supported by this industry? NW1872E
REPLY:
(1) No. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)'s Certification Program is an ecolabel that recognizes and rewards sustainable fishing practices by giving access to seafood products to specific markets while meeting specific stringent sustainable standards. The label indicates that seafood with this mark comes from a fishery that is certified for its well-managed and sustainable fishery practices. Therefore, Government is not responsible for accreditation.
(2) No. South African Deep Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA), as the client of MSC is responsible for coordinating compliance with MSC Certification requirements.
(3) The Department has in the past deployed scientific observers on hake vessels in compliance with MSC certification requirements. The previous contract for this outsourced service came to an end on 31 March 2011. A process is underway to advertise a new tender and appoint a service provider within three months.
(4)(a) Harvesting Hake
The MSC is not a regulatory body, but an eco-labelling body, certifying sustainability of the fishery in question. The MSC therefore does not govern the harvesting of national resources, including hake.
(4)(b) Entry to European markets
European consumer pressure demands MSC-certified fish. Compromising MSC certification of the hake trawl fishery would certainly compromise entry to European markets. The draft report of the recent MSC surveillance audit for the South African hake deep-sea trawl fishery has raised four new conditions, two of which relate directly to scientific observers. To maintain MSC certification for the hake trawl fishery the Department is required to re-instate the scientific observer programme within the period of one year, and this process is currently underway as indicated in (3) above.
(5)(a) The approximate gross revenue generated for South African hake to Europe were as follows (please note that the figures are per calendar year and not per financial year):
2008 R1.62 billion
2009 R1.7 billion
2010 R1.9 billion
(5)(b) At the moment the South African deep sea trawling sector (Hake) supports approximately 6500 jobs
Issued by Parliament, July 10 2012
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
