By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) wants to leverage oceans and coastline to develop a maritime economy that could create 1 million jobs and boost the economy.
In a draft discussion document titled ‘Towards a South African Oceans Economy Master Plan’, an economic study revealed that in terms of GDP and job creation, the full utilisation of the ocean economy could result in between R129 billion to R177 billion by 2023 and the creation of between 800,000 to 1 million jobs.
Maritime security and piracy specialist from Stellenbosch University Francois Vreÿ said that the plan does come with a catch, however, in that security measures need to be put in place to combat criminality.
He warned that in harvesting the economic potential from maritime trade, fishing or aquaculture, businesses face large threats from criminality – and that just as criminal syndicates aim to take advantage of loopholes or a lack of security measures on land, out at sea, it is the same.
The master plan aims to tap into the potential of the ocean economy and focuses specifically on:
- Marine transport and manufacturing
- Offshore oil and gas
- Aquaculture and fisheries
- Coastal and marine tourism
- Small harbours development
The DFFE said that South Africa could leverage its unique geographical location to make its ports more efficient and encourage cargo handling and marine transport.
“South Africa is ideally positioned to serve East and West cargo traffic and the African offshore oil and gas industry, given the regional potential,” it said. According to the department, it was estimated that cargo handling alone could contribute between R16 billion and R19 billion to GDP.
The master plan further looks into the possibility of expanding South Africa’s offshore oil and gas industry. It has called for significant investment in exploration along the coastline.
South Africa has possible resources of roughly 9 billion barrels of oil – equivalent to 40 years of South African oil consumption – and 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent of gas – equivalent to 375 years of South African gas consumption – along its coastline, the department said.
Further investigations are looking into the improvement of South Africa’s fisheries and aquaculture industries.
“The South African fishing sector is well-established, ranging from the highly industrialised fishing fleet to the more accessible small-scale fisheries, subsistence fisheries and recreational fisheries and remains a significant contributor to food security and the economy.”
The South African fishing industry has an R14.3 billion annual socio-economic contribution and employs in excess of 60,000 people, reported the department.
Despite good work being done by the department and the master plan outlining necessary developments, the issue of security needs to be addressed, or else criminal activity could rob the country of much-needed revenue, said Vreÿ.
South African fisheries are a target for organised crime, and as a result, the country is losing vast amounts of revenue.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates that Southern and East Africa lose in the region of R12.2 billion to illegal and unreported fishing every year.