Heritage and change : the implementation of fishing policy in Kassiesbaai, South Africa, 2007

Van Zyl, Marieke

Heritage and change : the implementation of fishing policy in Kassiesbaai, South Africa, 2007

Master Thesis

2008

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Social Anthropology

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

This dissertation looks at the Marine Living Resources Act of 1998, the manner in which it has been conceptualised and the way that this has influenced its implementation. The focus of the investigation is the historic fishing village of Kassiesbaai on the Cape's south coast, looking at the ways in which discursive differences play out between resident longterm fishermen, the government officials who introduced the new legislation and those who are tasked with implementing it, and a group of marine fisheries experts and researchers who have, or have had, influence over the policy process. Eight weeks of fieldwork were undertaken in Kassiesbaai January to March 2007, focussing on the longterm resident fishermen and their families. Observation, interviews, informal discussions and everyday interaction were the primary methods of data collection, supplemented by archival and publications research. The second phase of research involved further follow-up visits and interviews and correspondence with relevant parties in Marine and Coastal Management and scientists working in the marine fisheries sector. It is argued that the failure in this instance of these three groups to successfully engage with one another over the issue of marine resource management stems from the lack of trust between these groups, exacerbated by the variant ways in which central issues are framed by each. The primary difference concerns the manner in which the ocean is imagined. A filrther discrepancy concerns temporality, the manner in which time is conceptualised and actions scheduled or expected due to respective conceptions. The third main discrepancy which affects the process is the values that are attributed to the ocean by those who use it and speak of it. T heritage status of Kassiesbaai is discussed, and the conclusion drawn that while it is imperative to value the historical nature of the village and its residents, plans for their present and future must not suffer for it. From here, the possibility of dialogue is investigated in order to plot a path towards successful socio-ecological development that will both protect the biological stability of the sea and the socia-economic well-being of the impoverished community of Kassiesbaai.

Description

Includes abstract.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-82).

Keywords

Social Anthropology

Reference:

Collections

Masters

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