With most fishermen being un-schooled, they were unable to properly complete the application forms. Most fishing communities were left destitute with no quotas and some were conned into joint ventures with business people and then received little compensation from the allotted quotas.

When one visits most fishing communities nowadays, one sees hardship and poverty. Fishing communities also say the quota system forced them to resort to poaching, in order to making a living for their families.

The question that should be asked is how many black fishing communities/individuals have really been empowered in the last ten years? How much transformation is really taking place and who’s benefiting from joint ventures with established big fishing companies?

These are the questions that producer John Bailey set out to find answer for.

The department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have now said that it will issue 15 year fishing rights to companies, in order to ensure stability in the industry. Fishing communities say they should be the ones benefiting from such rights and not be left in the doldrums again.

We’ll talk to fishing communities who are in dire need of assistance.

We meet Harry Mentoor. He’s been a fisherman all his life and is one of only a handful of black people who owns a fish processing plant. But he can’t reach his full potential, because quotas are still awarded to the established white companies.

Environmental Affairs and Tourism minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, talks to us about his plans to resurrect poor fishing communities.

And . . .

Angry residents are fed up with poor local services but councillors want pay increases