DEPARTMENT
OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM - MEDIA
STATEMENT - Immediate release - 5 March
2008 - Three men were convicted in the East
London magistrates court today, Wednesday
4 March 2008 for illegally fishing a prohibited
line fish species, Sevent-four, a collapsed
line fish species currently battling to
recover since 1998.
Seventy-four is a line
fish species which is endemic to South African
waters only. It was one of the primary line
fish targeted catches from the 50's to the
70's and is the only line fish species for
which a complete moratorium has been declared
since 1998 after complete commercial collapse.
This was even before the line fish sector
has been declared to be in a state of emergency
by the Minister of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism in 2000.
The complete moratorium
means no fishing is allowed of the species,
whether recreationally or commercially.
For the past decade
the Seventy-four has shown no significant
signs of recovery as it takes generations
to rebuild stocks to sustainable levels.
From a total of 50 commercially
exploitable line fish species in South Africa
nineteen have collapsed. South Africa has
over 200 species with a substantial number
of species endemic, which places even greater
responsibility in order to ensure the sustainability
and survival of the species.
Scientists estimate
that globally 75% of global fish stocks
are either exploited at maximum levels or
are over exploited. It takes up to 10 years
for a single fish to mature reproductively.
The three men were found
with 7 units of reasonably matured Seventy-four
in their possession. The men were fined
R1000 each or 100 days imprisonment, suspended
for four years. Commenting about the outcome,
Mr Mava Scott, the Spokesperson for the
department welcomed the conviction but was
cautious about minor sentences for such
serious criminal acts:
"Although we are
very happy that these criminals were convicted,
we believe that stronger sentences should
be meted out to send clear powerful messages
that we will not tolerate the plundering
of our natural heritage which is already
under such severe pressure." he said.
He added that capacity
building collaborations with the Justice
College which falls under the Department
of Justice and Constitutional Development,
will further be strengthened this year,
with training efforts being intensified
for magistrates and prosecutors on environmental
crime in South Africa".
+ More
Issued by the Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism on 5 March 2008
www.deat.gov.za
2007 Foreign Arrivals Totalled a Record
9, 07 Million Travellers!
04 March 2008 – Speech
- STATEMENT BY MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK,
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM,
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, TUESDAY 4 MARCH 2008
I am very pleased to
announce that Destination South Africa is
well on its way to reaching 10 million arrivals
by 2010.
Arrivals for 2007 totalled
9, 07 million travellers - an 8.3% increase
from 2006 when we received almost 8,4 million
travellers. Global growth over the same
period was just over 6%, indicating that
South Africa continues to outgrow global
rates.
The growth was seen
across all air markets:
Europe
Arrivals from Europe
grew by 2.3% over 2006 and this was largely
driven by France which posted an 8.5% growth.
The Netherlands grew 3.5% while Italy increased
by 2.2%.
Germany was the only
country that posted negative growth of 1.4%
which was largely due to market-specific
activity.
Americas
Arrivals from the Americas
have shown consistently good growth since
2002, and 2007 saw South Africa attract
over 22 000 more travellers from the USA.
This translates to an 8.7% increase over
2006. The US is now South Africa’s second
biggest source market.
Asia and Australasia
This region has shown
fantastic growth in 2007. Arrivals from
China have increased by 12.9% over 2006,
showing good and strong growth which SA
Tourism will continue to leverage. India
grew 16.9% and Australasia showed a 6.9%
growth over 2006.
The only market that
showed a slight decrease is Japan, which
posted a decrease of -0.4% over 2006.
Africa air markets
Our African air markets
have shown good growth for the year. Nigeria
posted a 12.8% increase over 2006 and Kenya
came in with a strong 14.7% increase over
2006. Angola has also shown good growth
from a low base - 10.2% over 2006.
In SADC, Botswana continued
its growth curve with 55 000 more visitors
coming to South Africa from Botswana. This
translated to a 7.3% increase over 2006.
The increase in arrivals
from across all the regions of the world
- and in particular air arrivals - reflects
on the success of the airlift strategy passed
by Cabinet in 2006 which resulted in the
increased access to the South African market
for foreign carriers.
We look forward to an
even better 2008, and with the exciting
global projects planned by SA Tourism for
the upcoming fiscal year, I am more than
confident that South Africa will continue
to attract even more travellers to its shores
and reach the target of 10 million visitors
by 2010.
Mava Scott (Acting Chief Director: Communications)
Riaan Aucamp (Minister's Spokesperson)
