Sea Change on the Horizon: Electronic Monitoring and Digitalisation in SA’s Fisheries

For the longest time, fishing grounds have been something of a Wild West. Far from land, you could be forgiven for thinking you were accountable only to the weather and the gods. What might happen out in the deep – bycatch, dumping, underreporting, or worse – often escaped scrutiny. There is little incentive to report accurately on your return to harbour. Cheating is simple, the rewards are great, and the chances of getting caught? Slimmer than an underweight sardine, writes Democratic Alliance (DA) National Spokesperson for Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Andrew de Blocq MP.