Some fishing and coastal communities are up in arms, demanding a fair and meaningful public participation process on the Ocean Economy Master Plan.
They want government to listen to affected communities, restart consultation processes and give people enough time and space to engage.
Speaking after a second protest on Wednesday, Walter Steenkamp, Chairperson of the Aukotowa fisheries as well as the Northern Cape Coastal Link, said “the master plan takes decisions for fishermen, without their input. We are very concerned about that one because we do not want any oil rigs drilling in our ocean.”
He also said it’s best to leave tourism and fisheries to drive the oceans economy.
Steenkamp says the draft was sent this week to stakeholders for input by Monday.
But the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DAFF) held a virtual stakeholder meeting concerning the Oceans Economy Master Plan (OEMP) Validation and Review Workshop.
But Steenkamp says, the plan does not even make room for “exclusive fishing zones for fishermen.”
WWF South Africa and Natural Justice, maintain South Africa’s Oceans Economy Master Plan must balance commercial growth in sectors like oil, gas, and marine transport with ecological limits.
They called for transparent governance in previous utterances about the plan, as well as the inclusion of marginalized coastal and small-scale fishing communities.
Questions were sent to the Department, for comment.
Picture: Supplied