13. The Governability of Small-Scale Fisheries Food System in South Africa – The Case of Snoek and West Coast Rock Lobster

Poor people’s consumption of good quality nutrition from fish protein is compromised by the high demand for high quality fish protein from wealthy consumers in the developed world (particularly United States, Europe and Japan). In South Africa, the diet of the poor, and many of those catching high quality fish, consists mostly of cheap processed and industrialized food, rich in fat, salt and sugar. A new small-scale fisheries policy has been developed to help rectify the problem. This policy is based on a human rights approach to fisheries governance and with an aim to promote social and economic justice for small-scale fishers and small-scale communities in South Africa. A key aspect of this policy is to protect livelihoods and promote food security through allocating fishing rights to community entities. How the right to livelihoods translates into the right to food in small-scale fishing communities is a major question, however. This chapter examines this issue by looking at the food system of two important small-scale species – Thyritesatun (snoek) for “nutritious” consumption and sale and Jasus lalandii (west coast rock lobster; WCRL) for “luxury” consumption. The governance of the food system and the challenges for the governability of the snoek and WCRL small-scale fisheries are critically assessed.