Periculumconsult

26/08/2026

On 19 August 2026 DFFE adopted the National Plan of Action II for the Conservation and Management of Seabirds in South African Fisheries (NPOA Seabirds II), setting the country’s strategy for 2026–2030 to further reduce incidental seabird mortality and strengthen monitoring, reporting and adaptive management.

SA is globally recognised as a seabird biodiversity hotspot. Within its EEZ, 132 seabird species have been recorded, making SA second only to New Zealand in terms of seabird diversity. Around 50 seabird species breed within the EEZ, with the majority nesting on the Prince Edward Islands, and 17 species classified as endemic breeders. These populations include several threatened and internationally significant species, highlighting SA’s critical conservation responsibility.

At the same time, South Africa is a major fishing nation, ranking as the third largest in Africa by catch volume. The overlap between seabird foraging areas and fishing activities creates multiple points of interaction between fisheries and seabirds. The most direct threat is bycatch, particularly incidental mortality in longline and trawl fisheries. However, seabirds are also affected by a range of indirect pressures, including collisions with vessels, competition for food resources, ingestion of plastics, entanglement in marine debris, and behavioural changes resulting from reliance on discarded fishing offal.

To address these challenges, SA has adopted the National Plan of Action II for the Conservation and Management of Seabirds in South African Fisheries (NPOA Seabirds II), setting the country’s strategy for 2026–2030 to further reduce incidental seabird mortality and strengthen monitoring, reporting and adaptive management.

NPOA-Seabirds II has four overarching priority goals, each with actionable items that will be fulfilled during the life of this plan:

Tracking populations of all seabirds affected by fishing
Quantification of the impact of South African fisheries on seabird populations
Minimizing and mitigating negative impacts
Education, collaboration, and integration
Most recent estimates of seabird mortality in South African waters reveal a decrease in the numbers of birds caught since the first NPOA-Seabirds was published in 2008. For example, seabird incidental catch rates are estimated to have reduced by approximately 95% in the offshore demersal trawl (Maree et al. 2014) and by 71% in the pelagic longline sector (Rollinson et al. 2017).

What does this mean for the SA fishing industry?

The new NPOA Seabirds II is explicitly intended to cover multiple fishing methods, not just longline and trawl sectors. It establishes measurable objectives for reducing seabird bycatch and calls for mitigation measures tailored to the fishery and vessel class. It also specifically refers to skipper and observer training, monitoring, reporting and sharing of interaction data.

Various measures to mitigate incidental catch of seabirds have been included in South African fisheries regulations through sector specific permit conditions. These permit conditions are reviewed on an annual basis.

Seabird mortalities are minimised through the deployment of bird scaring lines (tori lines), management of offal discharge and regulation of the nature of the grease on the trawl warps. Data shows that most fatal interactions occur with warp strikes, and the implementation of bird scaring lines can reduce this mortality by 90% when implemented correctly. Management of offal discharge and regulation of the nature of the grease on the trawl warps is mandatory for midwater trawl, offshore trawl and inshore trawl vessels.

Purse seine fishing operations are not the main source of industry-related seabird mortality globally, although some species may be more susceptible to incidental catch in specific fisheries. Seabird mortality in purse seine fishing operations primarily results from the entanglement of animals in different parts of the fishing gear

Several mitigation measures that have shown to be effective for longline fisheries are included in permit conditions for South African longline fisheries. Bird-scaring lines deployed during longline setting operations deter birds from approaching the baited branch lines before they sink out of reach. Specifications of the bird-scaring line and the method of deployment are provided in the permit conditions.

16/08/2026

The Information Regulator issued an Enforcement Notice for the contravention of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) against Central Johannesburg TVET College (CJC) following findings that the institution contravened several provisions of POPIA.

The Enforcement Notice, dated 22 May 2026, follows complaints lodged by three affected individuals whose special personal information was unlawfully shared with third parties within the institution without legal justification.

The information which was disclosed to the employer for purposes of governance and employee vetting included the complainant's qualifications and criminal charges and convictions, which were shared by the institution in contravention of the provisions of POPIA.

The Regulator concluded that CJC failed to comply with key POPIA obligations, including:
- Failure to implement adequate accountability measures;
- Unlawful further processing and sharing of personal information;
- Failure to maintain appropriate security safeguards; and
- Failure to notify both the Regulator and affected individuals of the security compromise as required under section 22 of POPIA.

The Enforcement Notice directed CJC to take several corrective actions within specified timeframes, and failure to comply with the Enforcement Notice constitutes an offence and may result in sanctions such as a fine, imprisonment, or both.

Key takeaway:
Employees who handle personal information must know the rules of sharing information outside the company. It is importment that emloyees are trained on the pillars of POPI, and the company POPI Manual.

Is your business POPIA compliant?
1. Do you have a POPIA Manual in place?
2. Have your employees received POPIA awareness training?
3. Have you conducted a POPIA risk assessment?
4. Is your Information Officer registered with the Information Regulator?

If you answered “no” to any of the above - speak to us for POPI compliance.

16/08/2026

The Fisheries Department confirmed that pilchard herpesvirus (PHV) genetic material found in recent sardine mortality. PHV was detected in both dead sardines and, at lower levels, in some apparently healthy sardine collected from the West Coast. This suggests that the presence of the virus alone may not be sufficient to cause mass mortality.

PHV has not previously been reported in South African sardines. It was associated with two large-scale sardine mortality events in Australasia during the 1990s. However, the virus was subsequently detected in apparently healthy Australian populations without causing continuous mortality.

PHV is a virus associated with sardines and there is no evidence that it infects people or other animals.

Scientists are therefore also investigating whether an environmental stressor, such as harmful algae, low oxygen or unusual oceanographic conditions, may have triggered or intensified the event.

Tests for toxins in sardines collected off Saldanha Bay, the Cape Canyon and Gansbaai, together with an apparently healthy comparison sample from St Helena Bay, found none of the paralytic toxins associated with a harmful algal bloom in Saldanha Bay. Two other algal toxins, domoic acid and yessotoxin, were detected at low levels, with the highest levels found in the apparently healthy comparison sample. No other toxins included in the screening were detected.

These findings suggest that the toxins tested for were unlikely to have been the primary cause of the sardine deaths. However, they do not entirely rule out harmful algae or environmental conditions as factors that may have placed additional stress on the fish.

The Department has convened an urgent briefing with small pelagic fishing industry to urgently formulate a high-level coordinated response plan for PHV-associated sardine mortality in South African waters.

The Department is expanding disease surveillance along the West, South and East coasts, while further disease, pathology and environmental investigations continue. The Department’s routine October/November hydroacoustic biomass survey will be the first opportunity to assess the possible effect on the sardine population.

The PHV finding alone does not indicate that healthy sardines caught commercially or canned products are unsafe, and does not currently justify a general suspension of fishing or canning. The biotoxin results are also reassuring, although they do not constitute a general clearance of all commercial catches. Monitoring and normal food-safety controls should therefore continue.

Members of the public should not collect or consume dead or dying fish. They should also not feed dead or dying fish to pets.

04/08/2026

Reports of Sardine mortality along the West Coast of Cape Town

The Department of Fisheries is investigating reports of dead and dying sardines at several locations along the Western Cape coast, from Saldanha Bay to Gansbaai.

Fish have been reported washing ashore, while dead and dying sardines have also been observed drifting at the surface as far as eight nautical miles offshore near Hout Bay. The Department has received photographs, videos and reports from fishers and members of the public.

The first fish samples were collected off Saldanha Bay on Saturday, 1 August 2026, with the assistance of the fishing vessel Shivon. The samples were received by the Department on Sunday morning, 2 August, and examination and diagnostic testing will begin on Monday, 3 August. Scientific observers have also been deployed aboard purse-seine fishing vessels to collect further information on the distribution and extent of the mortality.

A harmful algal bloom caused by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella is currently present in the Saldanha Bay area.

However, given the wide geographic extent of the reported sardine mortality, it cannot at this stage be assumed that this bloom is responsible for all the reported mortalities.

The investigation will consider a range of possible causes, including harmful algal blooms and associated toxins, environmental conditions and fish disease. No cause has yet been confirmed, and conclusions should not be drawn before the samples and available environmental information have been assessed.

As a precaution, members of the public are strongly advised not to collect, handle or consume dead or dying fish found on beaches or floating at sea. The Department will provide further information once initial test results are available.

03/08/2026

28/07/2026

St Helena Bay

23/06/2026

Since conducting Regulation 39A audits across fishing vessels operating out of the Western Cape, a clear pattern has emerged. The same gaps appear vessel after vessel — not because vessel owners are negligent, but because the regulatory framework has gaps that allow these issues to go undetected for years.


This blog unpacks the most common findings from our audits. If you operate or manage a fishing vessel, read this carefully — because the next SAMSA or Department of Labour inspection might not be as forgiving as your last one.

Since conducting Regulation 39A audits across fishing vessels operating out of the Western Cape, a clear pattern has emerged. The same gaps appear vessel after vessel — not because vessel owners are negligent, but becaus...

02/06/2026

https://periculumconsult.co.za/blog/f/28-days-left-to-submit-your-paia-annual-report-coida-returns

June is a busy compliance month for South African businesses.

13/05/2026

Fisheries Minister extends West Coast Rock Lobster Season into May

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Mr Willie Aucamp, has reconfirmed his commitment to improving governance, strengthening economic participation, and ensuring long-term sustainability in the small-scale fishing sector.

The Minister was speaking during his first small-scale fisheries stakeholder engagement held with representatives of cooperatives from the Western Cape and Northern Cape on 5 May 2026.

During the stakeholder engagement, the Minister highlighted some of the interventions that the Department is implementing to mitigate some of these issues, including the announcement of the reopening of the West Coast Rock Lobster nearshore fishing season for the small-scale sector from 1 May to 31 May 2026.

This decision was taken as a once-off corrective measure to mitigate the impact of administrative delays in the finalization and issuing of revised allocations and permits, and to ensure equitable access to allocated fishing opportunities.

When voicing their views and concerns, cooperatives were frank about the urgent and long-term issues, highlighting that they are not asking for special consideration but are requesting government to honour its commitments in supporting the effective implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy and enabling sustainable livelihoods. Some of the cooperatives further submitted their concerns and queries in the form of a memorandum and letters which will be formally assessed and responded to through established departmental processes.

The Minister will continue to engage with stakeholders across all coastal provinces to ensure that the Small-scale Fisheries Policy implementation is responsive, inclusive, and aligned with the objectives of equitable access and sustainable resource utilization.