Between 50 and 70 small boat fishermen staged a placard protest at Hout Bay harbour, on Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard on Tuesday over the allocation of permits to fish for snoek.
Hout Bay police spokesperson Inspector Renier Cloete said the protest was peaceful.
”We gave them the telephone number of Andre Reynecke an assistant director at marine and coastal management, to set up a meeting over the allocation of permits,” Cloete said.
He said most of the disillusioned fishermen from the Hangberg community in Hout Bay had dispersed peacefully.
Cloete said the group would attend a meeting in Kalk Bay on Wednesday, where someone from the province’s marine and coastal management department would address their concerns.
Cloete confirmed that two small fishing vessels without the necessary permits put to sea from Hout Bay early on Tuesday. They risked having their catch impounded. – Sapa