Can the Upstream Petroleum Industry Really Share Seaspace? At What Price?

Can the upstream petroleum industry really share the same seaspace as South Africa’s commercial and small-scale fishing industries? At what price to coastal communities and the marine environment? This is the oil and gas industry’s perspective…

The question whether the upstream petroleum industry and South Africa’s fishing industries can co-exist and at the same time minimise damage, is one that must be answered carefully and with consideration.

The fisheries are not convinced, nor are the marine conservationists, civil society groups, and definitely not small-scale fishers, although the latter seems divided in its approach.