10 Year Review: 2019 A Watershed Year

Few people in the fishing industry will underestimate the importance of 2019. The year in which the application process for the allocation of long-term rights across 12 fisheries is expected to kick off. Conservative estimates have put the wholesale value of the rights to be allocated in the Fishing Rights Allocation Process of 2020 (FRAP 2020) at around R132-billion over 15 years. The stakes are very high. Not only for fishing companies and aspirant right-holders, but also for the thousands of people who depend on fishing for their livelihoods, particularly in the Western Cape, writes TERENCE BROWN.