Benguela (Southern) - Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries

EAF objectives and principles for South African fisheries are specified in Chapter 1 (Section 2) of the South African Marine Living Resources Act No. 18 of 1998. During a series of Ecological Risk Assessment workshops, ecosystem issues in South Africa’s key fisheries were identified (http://www.wwf.org.za/media_room/publications). Several identified issues have been addressed by means of dedicated projects that include food-web studies, trophic models of structural and functional changes in the Southern Benguela ecosystem, and observation- and model-based studies of the combined ecosystem effects of fishing and environment. Particular issues being addressed include assessment of the impact of pelagic fishing in key foraging areas of the endangered African Penguin, assessment of the impacts of demersal trawls on benthic and demersal fish assemblages, and identification of decadal-scale changes and associated dynamics in the offshore and inshore ecosystems off South Africa. An EAF section has been added to all fishing permits and an EAF Working Group is operational to help the responsible governmental departments grappling with EAF-related decision making. Practical implementation measures are under development in collaboration with stakeholders, and knowledge- based and ecosystem-model-based decision support systems are being developed.