Fisheries crime, human rights and small-scalefisheries in South Africa: Acase of biggerfish to fry

Abstract

Marinefisheries plays an important role in ensuring food security and providing livelihoods in South Africa, as inmany other developing coastal States. Transnationalfisheries crime seriously undermines these goals. Drawingon empirical research this contribution highlights the complexity of law enforcement at the interface betweenlow-level poaching and organised crime in the small-scalefisheries sector with reference to a South African casestudy. Specifically, this article examines the relationship between afisheries-crime law enforcement approachand the envisaged management approach of the South African Small-Scale Fisheries Policy.