April flood aftermath leaves livelihoods of fisherfolk hanging in the balance

SHARING their concerns for governments lack of response towards the plight of subsistence fisherfolk since the April floods, farmers, ocean lovers, surfers and traditional healers also joined to converse at the Austerville Civic Centre  at a meeting on October 20,.

Attracting and gaining the support of fisherfolk from as far Hluhluwe on the north coast, to Umtwalume on the south coast, who gathered to share their challenges, the meeting criticised the apathy from government towards those reliant on the sustainability of the beaches.

Chairperson of the KZN Subsistence Fishing Forum, John Peter Narainsamy, said the continuous beach closures leave poor, destitute fisherfolk unable to catch fish to put food on their tables or continue to sell fish to earn an income.
“The municipalities have failed them by not maintaining their critical infrastructures, whereby water pump stations are malfunctioning, thus allowing raw sewage to flow into the nearby rivers and streams which eventually end up in our ocean.
“We have seen many instances via social media videos to substantiate this, as well as on-site visits where the water was severely contaminated and giving off a stench of sewer. It is alleged that the water pumps were destroyed by the April floods, coupled with vandalism.

“It is during the months of winter that we get the annual sardine run, accompanied by tons of other fish species, and it is every fisherfolks dream to catch fish in abundance and sustain their living. Fishermen were unfortunate and unable to earn that extra income due to the beach closures,” said Narainsamy.

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance’s (SDCEA) founder and director, Desmond D’sa, said it was sad that subsistence fisherfolk were marginalised and denied their constitutional right to put food on the table for their families.
“They are the most oppressed group and are forced to fish off sewerage outfalls and off dangerous piers. Even though they have challenges, they must pay for and carry licenses for bait, at a time when unemployment is the highest in South Africa. They have their backs to the wall as they have to fish to feed and pay the bills at home. Something needs to be done,” said D’sa.

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Narainsamy added that apathy from relevant stakeholders has led to the ocean being under severe threat due to climate change, pollution and poor waste management, sea mining (drilling for oil and gas) and overfishing.
“Regarding overfishing, the Department of Fisheries is quick to implement marine protected areas, which we fully support, but they fail aggressively to address the other issues. Marine protected areas were implemented with restricted no-take zones, affecting our local fishermen living in close proximity to these areas.

“This further marganilised the fishermen, yet on the other hand, the Department of Minerals and Resources readily grants licenses to the big oil companies to explore for oil and gas from the ocean. This has a negative impact, thereby contradicting the strategy of a sustainable ocean of marine living species.

“This clearly shows that our government is putting profits before peoples lives. We have seen thousands of fish wash up dead on the riverbanks as well as from the sea due to sewer pollution. Our coral reefs play an important part of the marine food chain. It is alleged that our coral reefs are now destroyed from pollution, hence the scarcity of fish. Every fisherman pays for their fishing permit, but government failed to compensate or offer any support to fisherfolks. We need the municipality to expedite the repairs to the affected pump stations and plan for regular maintenance and enforce security measures to critical infrastructures,” said Narainsamy.