Onboard observers are independent operators paid by the fisheries department as a requirement for the industry to keep its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. There have been no observers on hake fishing vessels since late 2011, when the contract with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) expired.
If the country loses its MSC certification, the hake industry will lose the R5 billion it generates through exports because markets in the European Union (EU), Australia, the US and Japan will not buy hake without this sustainability certification. This will also give industry competitors a large advantage. In fact, said Martin Purves, programme manager of the Southern African MSC, most retailers in Germany, the UK and the US are committed to sell only MSC hake.
The next yearly report assessing industry compliance with council requirements is due in July, Purves said. "We should then have greater clarity on what the effect of the changes in the government-run observer programme will be," the FIS portal reports.
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