Pretoria - The tender for the fisheries patrol management and research vessels will be divided into two bids, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on Tuesday.
The tenders are expected to be advertised later in March, and are envisaged to assist in broadening the scope of participation to include both smaller and larger players into the fisheries industry, and to contribute to employment.
The announcement was made the Department’s Fisheries Deputy Director General, Greta Apelgren-Narkedien, during a meeting with members of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The meeting recommended that a turnaround strategy and the transformation of the industry should remain at the centre of the work of the branch.
Other issues discussed include the state of the vessel fleet, the research surveys and the long term fishing rights allocations process.
The separtment also guided the committee on its intention to complete more research expeditions.
Apelgren-Narkedien said: “The meeting has given us an opportunity to assess our operations and to flag all the worrying areas.
“The encouraging point is that our critical research missions have been completed, and those that are still outstanding are not going to be jeopardised.” - SAnews.gov.za
