Cape Town – The Western Cape High Court on Wednesday lifted an interdict preventing existing and new entrants from operating in the Hake Inshore Trawl sector.
In January this year, Judge Lee Bozalek made an interim ruling after an application had been submitted by Viking Inshore Fishing, which was unhappy about the new quotas which came into effect since the beginning of 2017.
In its application, Viking was seeking for the total suspension of hake fishing rights until an internal appeals process for fishing rights has been concluded and Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwane has taken a final decision regarding the fishing quotas.
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The Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries said in a statement the ruling means the matter has now been brought to an end as the application to interdict the granting of fishing rights to previously disadvantaged new entrants was dismissed with costs.
“The interdict, previously preventing existing and new entrants from participating in the sector has now been lifted. The court held that the Department explained fully the entire allocation process (of fishing rights),” the statement read.
READ: Viking Fishing director: We were trying to save jobs
The Department is of the view that the court order has vindicated its attempts to ensure that new entrants in the hake inshore trawl sector are able to utilise the fishing rights granted to them.
“The court said the decision made by the Department cannot be said to be irrational, inexplicable or unreasonable. This is a victory for both the department and small fishing companies who have been prevented from operating in the sector for the past six months,” according to the Department.
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