Our oceans cover nearly three-quarters of the earth’s surface, and produce more than half the oxygen in the atmosphere. Some 97% of our water is here. It is a major influence on weather systems and home of a vast array of marine life – from whales to phytoplankton. Over 3 billion people depend on fish as part of their diet, and about 600 million livelihoods “depend at least partially on fisheries and aquaculture” (FAO, 2022, cited by the World Bank, 2023).
This chapter is in the “Issues” section for a simple reason: our oceans are in crisis. They have been mismanaged, or at best, not been managed at all, having been overfished and altered by pollution.
The 14th of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiated by UN member states is to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” (UN, 2015).
Measures that will turn the tide, so to speak, include:
Find updates on progress (or lack thereof) in the articles under the “Websites and publications” heading.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea lays out the rules of how far out a nation’s zone of influence extends beyond its shores. About two-thirds of the world’s oceans lie beyond national jurisdiction, and up to now there was no treaty protecting the “high seas”. In 2023, after nearly two decades of negotiations, 193 nations agreed on a High Seas Treaty at the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).
Find international articles and updates under the last heading on this page.
The African Union declared 2015 to 2025 as the Decade of African Seas and Oceans, and the blue economy is now officially referred to as the new frontier of Africa’s Renaissance.
Some articles …
The Fish SA brochure “Fishing for a sustainable and equitable future” at http://fishsa.org provides overviews of this industry’s exports.
Poaching, specifically of rock lobster and abalone, remains a threat.
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Livelihoods and food security in South Africa’s coastal provinces are intimately connected to small-scale fisheries. How does one balance restorative justice for communities discriminated against before 1994, be fair to established fishing companies and keep in mind sustainability levels? The Policy for the Small-Scale Fisheries Sector in South Africa (SSF policy) and the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) and its Amendment Act provide the framework to achieve transformation whilst looking after the country’s marine resources.
ABALOBI, “small-scale fisher” in isiXhosa, is the name given to the mobile app suite which aims to enable small-scale fishing communities to be incorporated into information and resource networks, which include fishery monitoring, maritime safety, local development and market opportunities. Restaurants source a diversity of fish directly from small-scale fishers through the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE app, and this significantly increases a fairer price for fish sold by small-scale fishers. See http://abalobi.info.
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The Oceans Economy Master Plan (OEMP) is “to advance stabilisation revival and growth of the sub-sectors within the ocean economy to ensure increased contribution to job creation, GDP, economic recovery and potential growth” (DFFE, 2023a; PMG, 2023a).
Operation Phakisa Aquaculture Lab Initiative’s Progress: (i) In total 45 projects are producing farmed aquatic animals as part of Operation Phakisa Oceans economy. (ii) Small-scale aquaculture implementation plan was finalised.(iii) Signed MOU in 2022 with Department of Small Business Development (DSBD, including Sefa and SEDA) for the support towards small-scale aquaculture (DFFE, 2023; PMG, 2023a).
Further reference:
Community, NGO and NPO Service Providers
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Associations
Training and research
Companies involved
Visit the websites listed earlier on this page.
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