Evaluation of Participation in and Management of the Transkei Shore Linefishery

one of the most rugged and inaccessible coastlines in South Africa, and it is considered by many shore-anglers to be a premier recreational angling destination. A study conducted by the Oceanographic Research Institute in 1993 showed that shore-angling was the second most important tourist attraction out of a list of 54 attractions to the Transkei coast (Fielding et al. 1994). In addition, many local inhabitants subsist by fishing from the shore. Increasing numbers of shore-anglers (van der Elst 1993, McGrath et al. 1997) and an improvement in fishing techniques and equipment has resulted in a gradual decline in catch per unit effort (cpue) along the South African coast and a change in the species composition of catches (van der Elst and de Freitas 1988, van der Elst 1989, Bennett 1991, Attwood and Farquhar 1999). Recognition of fish stock decline and increased awareness of the importance of the linefishery were motivating factors that led to the initiation of a national programme on linefish management in South Africa. In April 1994, the Chief Directorate: Marine & Coastal Management (formerly Sea Fisheries) launched a national survey to evaluate the participation in and the management of the South African linefishery. Investigation of the shore-fishery along of the West Coast, South-Western Cape, South-Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal was completed in 1996 (Brouwer et al. 1997, McGrath et al. 1997). However, the former Transkei region of the Eastern Cape was not included, because it fell outside South African jurisdiction at the start of the study. During 1994, the Transkei juristically was re-incorporated into the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The current study was therefore started in March 1997 in order to complete the national survey of the South African linefishery (note: the name Transkei is used hereafter). The South African shore-based linefishery is an open-access one, managed by bag and size limits, closed seasons and marine protected areas. The regulations were first promulgated in 1984 under the Sea Fisheries Act No. 58 of 1973 (Government Gazette No. 9543 of 1984) and further revised in 1992 under the Sea Fisheries Act No. 12 of 1988 (Government Gazette No. 14353 of 1992). In the Transkei, the regulations were replaced in 1991 with regulations promulgated by the Transkei Government (Environmental Conservation Decree No. 9 of 1992), which were Afr. J. mar. Sci. 25: 79–97 2003 79