South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association

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South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association

SADSTIA is an association of South African trawler owners and operators.

It is a recognised industrial body that interacts with government, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties for the benefit of the South African deep-sea trawling industry. SADSTIA and its affiliates represent all right-holders in the deep-sea trawling industry, accounting for 100% of the hake landed by this fishery. The Association is governed by its members and an executive co

mmittee is responsible for its management. The chairman and/or deputy chairman and an executive secretary take care of the day-to-day management of the association.

05/06/2026

The phrase 'sustainable fishing' gets used loosely. In the South African hake trawl fishery, it has a specific meaning.

It means a fishing footprint that covers only 4.8 percent of South Africa's ocean territory, fixed in place by a voluntary trawl ring-fence introduced by the industry in 2008 and later written into permit conditions. Marine protected areas declared inside that footprint in 2019. Voluntary seabed management areas added in 2025, agreed jointly by scientists, government and industry. Seabird bycatch in the trawl fishery almost eliminated through collaborative work with conservation organisations. Used fishing nets recycled and turned into value for local communities, rather than ending up in landfill.

None of this happened in a single announcement. It happened in steady increments, over two decades, with the same group of people in the room each time. Scientists. Regulators. Conservation organisations. Industry.

On a day like World Environment Day, that is the part of the story worth being specific about. Not what the industry intends to do. What is already in place, recorded, and audited.

Learn more about the fishery at https://f.mtr.cool/rkryuxtxig

04/06/2026

A new fishing vessel is only as good as the people who run it.

On the bridge of the Santa Princesa is Skipper Arrie Shepherd. With his team of officers, Arrie is responsible for 65 crew members, the safe operation of a sophisticated trawler, the quality of every hake fillet that leaves the factory and the well-being of everyone aboard for weeks at a time.

These are the roles that almost never appear in stories about the global fishing industry. The hands on the wheel and the eyes on the factory floor. The decisions taken at three in the morning when the weather turns. The quiet professionalism that keeps a 2 999 kW vessel running safely in some of the most demanding seas in the world.

Fleet renewal is often talked about in terms of vessels and engines. The Santa Princesa is a useful reminder that fleet renewal is also about jobs. Skilled, technical jobs. Factory work that pays a regular wage. Career paths that take people from the deck to the bridge over the course of a working life.

More than half of the South African hake trawl industry's roughly direct 6 600 jobs are at sea or directly tied to the vessels. Each new trawler reinforces that.

Read more about the Santa Princesa here: https://f.mtr.cool/qikdmzpuvo

02/06/2026

A 65 metre freezer trawler was registered in the South African deep-sea trawl fleet in May.

The Santa Princesa, built in Norway in 1987 and recently refurbished, will replace the Umzabalazo and catch the allocations of three SADSTIA member companies: Mayibuye Fishing, Ntshonalanga Fishing and Khoi Qwa Fishing Development Company. A ceremony in Cape Town marked the moment.

Since the allocation of long-term fishing rights in 2022, SADSTIA members have been steadily investing in upgraded vessels, modernised onboard processing facilities, improved crew accommodation and tighter safety systems. The Santa Princesa is one part of that broader trajectory.

Fleet renewal is a long-term commitment. It only happens in fisheries where science, the management framework and the certification environment give companies enough confidence to invest at scale.

〰️ The South African hake trawl fishery has held its Marine Stewardship Council certification for 22 years
〰️ Contributes R8.5 billion to the economy each year
〰️ Supports approximately direct 6 600 jobs and 12 400 jobs in total

Each new or upgraded vessel reinforces what makes those numbers possible. More on the Santa Princesa, the people aboard and what fleet renewal looks like in practice will follow this month.

Read more about the Santa Princesa here: https://f.mtr.cool/csuohlouyq

28/05/2026

Behind every thriving fishing company is a community.

The Sea Harvest Foundation puts that into practice across three areas: education and youth development, health and wellness, and community and small business development.

For Elodia Alexander, a Sea Harvest employee and single mother, that support meant her son El-Jay could compete in the Wildeklawer Rugby Tournament in Kimberley, one of SA's most prestigious schools rugby festivals.

In 2025, the Foundation also funded a third litter trap at a stormwater outlet in Saldanha, designed by engineering graduate Philani Makhabela, to keep pollutants out of the ocean.

A sustainable fishery is about more than fish.

Read the full 2025 Annual Review ➡️ https://f.mtr.cool/utjdroynzp

26/05/2026

981 fishers. 142 cooperatives. One programme quietly changing how small-scale fishing works in South Africa.

Oceana's "Cooperative Sense" training gives small-scale fishers hands-on knowledge of running a cooperative: business management, food safety, sustainable fishing, safety at sea. It is not charity. It is capacity-building.

In 2025, 100 fishers went through FoodBev SETA training with Oceana, and another 150 completed SAQA-certified courses at NQF Levels 1 and 2.

And it is growing. Oceana and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment have launched a national mentorship programme, backed by a R4.4 million grant, to support 250 cooperatives.

A sustainable fishery is not just about fish. It is about people.

Read the full 2025 Annual Review ➡️ https://f.mtr.cool/oemfhnrdro

13/05/2026

Using global conservation data, researchers found that agriculture threatens far more species than fishing.

One estimate suggests extinction risk per unit of animal protein is ~2.6× higher for agriculture than for wild-caught fish.

This is not a free pass for harmful fishing. Sustainable limits and strong management are essential.

But it is a reminder that biodiversity outcomes depend on what our food system shifts toward, not only what it shifts away from.

Learn more at https://sadstia.co.za/

Source: Leadbitter et al. (2025) https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2025.2585414

12/05/2026

In November 2022, three young engineering cadets started their training with I&J.

This year, all three qualified as marine engineering officers.

Phiwe Jakuja, Siphelo Zwelibanzi and Xola Ndzima spent three years moving between the classroom, the engine room and the open ocean. Academic training, sea-time experience, and final examinations with the South African Maritime Safety Authority. All three passed.

A sustainable fishery needs more than healthy fish stocks. It needs skilled people running the engines, maintaining the vessels, and carrying the technical knowledge forward.

Congratulations to Phiwe, Siphelo and Xola. The fleet is in good hands.

Read more in the 2025 Annual Review ➡️ https://f.mtr.cool/sbosznhjih

05/05/2026

Ever wondered how fishing limits are set?

It is not a guess. It is a formula called an Operational Management Procedure, or OMP, that runs on two main types of data: what vessels report catching at sea, and what independent research surveys confirm about fish populations.

South Africa was ahead of the curve on this. Professor Doug Butterworth at UCT was a pioneer in the development and application of OMPs in fisheries.

The hake OMP is up for revision in 2026. The 2027 catch limit will be the first calculated under the updated version.

Read more in the 2025 Annual Review ➡️ https://f.mtr.cool/vejrlhwkpq

02/05/2026

A reminder that the fishing industry is not just about the men on boats.

Every kilogram of Cape hake that reaches a plate has moved through dozens of pairs of hands. Skippers reading the weather. Crews working the deck. Processors running the factory lines in Saldanha, Cape Town, Mossel Bay and Gqeberha. Shore-based support staff keeping vessels running. Administrators. Scientists and observers measuring every catch at sea. Conservationists and government fisheries managers whose work keeps the stock healthy.

The deep-sea hake trawl industry supports 12 400 jobs across South Africa. Every one of them matters, and we recognize this this Worker’s Day.

To everyone working in this industry: thank you.

30/04/2026

Combined Fishing Enterprises is one of the smallest members of SADSTIA.

In 2014, CFE co-owner Don Lucas went looking for an organisation making a real difference in Cape Town. He found Masicorp in Masiphumelele, visited their programmes and agreed to contribute to a bursary scheme that at the time supported around 50 tertiary students with study materials, transport and mentorship.

When Masicorp wound down the bursary programme in 2018, CFE did not walk away. Support shifted to wherever it was needed most. The preschool feeding scheme. The women's sewing programme. School uniforms.

Emergency funds during the pandemic. Don also connected Masicorp to others in his network. During COVID-19 it was through him that Fish SA donated a pallet of frozen fish when feeding programmes were under real pressure.
More than ten years later, CFE still shows up.

There is no headline in that. No award ceremony. Just a small fishing company and a township NGO building something consistent and real over a decade. That is also what this industry looks like from the inside.

Read more in the 2025 Annual Review at https://f.mtr.cool/ybgnpilpzq

Address

2nd Floor, Harbour Place, Martin Hammerschlag Way
Cape Town

Telephone

+27 (0)21 425 2727

Website

http://sadstia.co.za/

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