The Resilient Small Scale Fishers of South Africa
Over the course of 2021 I took an assignment to document the fishing communities of the Cape South Coast. Home to some of the best fishing grounds in South Africa and a busy hub for traditional small scale fishers.
This is an emotive compilation of testimonials from fishers participating in the ABALOBI programme and helping us rethink the way we eat fish.
I had long been waiting for an opportunity to document some of the South Coast Yellowtail season. We were still living life under Covid curfew in South Africa, which meant when the opportunity did arrive, I needed to plan well.
Below are a collection of images from a special time chasing yellowtail on a traditional South Coast ‘Chukkie’, with some of the few remaining traditional fishers of South Africa
I arrived the night before, slept in my bakkie outside the harbour and was ready to head to sea around 04h30 the next morning. My skipper for the day was a gentleman by the name of 'Oom T' and he made me feel right at home on the boat, even with my broken Afrikaans and the fact I almost fell out the dinghy on the short journey to his Chukkie in the Struisbaai harbour. The fishers all had a good chuckle as we steamed out to the fishing grounds.
As luck would have it, we saw not even a single yellowtail — But to spend a day at sea with traditional fishers was an experience I will never forget.
