In a surprising Cabinet reshuffle on 12 November 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa removed Dr Dion George as minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment, replacing him with the DA’s national spokesperson, Willie Aucamp. The move followed a request from DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who cited “underperformance”.
Under George’s leadership, fisheries management, a critical function of the department, suffered from a glaring lack of engagement with civil society. Despite repeated calls from fishing communities and community-based organisations such as Coastal Links South Africa, which represents traditional fishers across all coastal provinces, the minister did not meet small-scale fishers or address the growing challenges in the sector.
This disengagement is unfortunate in a country where more than 60,000 people rely on fish for food, livelihoods and cultural identity. In 2024, Masifundise and Coastal Links convened the South African Fisher People’s Tribunal, a milestone event that highlighted human rights violations, reflected on more than two decades of struggle and celebrated the vital role of small-scale fishers in sustaining food security and local heritage.
Later that year, the Fisher People’s Conference built on the tribunal’s findings and sought to advance the recognition and protection of fisher peoples’ rights. George and his department were invited to participate, listen to the jury’s findings and engage on recommendations, but he declined, choosing silence over dialogue. This decision further alienated communities whose survival depends on inclusive, equitable fisheries governance. Additionally, he repeatedly made sensationalistic announcements about the sector, without actually engaging and understanding what fishers’ needs were.
For generations, coastal and inland fishers have served as custodians of South Africa’s marine and freshwater ecosystems. Yet today they face a web of interconnected threats that deepen their vulnerability. Key among these is the poor implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Policy, the threat of extractive developments, expanding conservation restrictions and heightened exposure to climate disasters.
The SSF Policy has failed to uphold a human rights-based approach, weakening the social fabric of fishing communities. It does not recognise customary rights and imposes a business-oriented cooperative model that undermines traditional community structures. Fishers nationwide have raised concerns about inadequate implementation and are calling on the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to address these failures and realign the policy with its original intent. They emphasise the need for greater community control over local food systems, from a viable basket of species to flexible sea days and timely permit issuance. They also call for genuine co-management that ensures meaningful community participation and clear mechanisms to hold law enforcement accountable for rights violations.
Extractive developments pose another grave threat – offshore oil and gas explorations have led to the loss of traditional fishing grounds, restricted access and degraded habitats essential for fish stocks, eroding livelihoods and deepening economic insecurity. Appeals for oil and gas applications are being dismissed which affirms the concerns raised by coastal communities.
At the same time, fortress conservation practices continue to exclude fishing communities from their traditional waters, often criminalising them for exercising customary rights. Inland fishers face similar restrictions in rivers and dams. For fisher people, nature is inseparable from their identity; their knowledge and cultural traditions are rooted in a deep relationship with land, water and biodiversity. When conservation efforts disregard these rights, they damage more than ecosystems, they threaten the survival, dignity and cultural integrity of the very communities that have protected these environments for generations.
Climate impacts add another layer of vulnerability. During the tribunal, the case was heard of how the 2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods exposed contamination of coastal waters, creating severe health risks, especially for women who depend on safe catches for income and nutrition. These disasters destroyed critical infrastructure and exposed the lack of preparedness in rural coastal communities. Without urgent investment in climate-resilient infrastructure and policy, small-scale fishers will remain on the frontline of overlapping social, environmental and economic crises.
The Fisher People’s Tribunal could have been an essential opportunity for George to hear directly from SSF communities and demonstrate a commitment to inclusive governance. Held near the beginning of his tenure, it offered a chance to build trust, one he did not take.
Fishers now fear that yet another ministerial change will further delay the long-overdue review of the Marine Living Resources Act of 1998, a process intended to rectify historical injustices by ensuring equitable access and fair resource allocation for the small-scale sector.
The ongoing reshuffling of leadership in this portfolio reflects a worrying disregard for the depth of knowledge and sector-specific experience required to govern effectively. While the Government of National Unity presents a new political chapter, it should not come at the cost of appointing leaders who lack understanding of, or willingness to engage with, the communities most affected by their decisions. SSF demands genuine engagement, recognition of their knowledge and decision-making grounded in human rights rather than prioritising profits for sectors such as commercial and recreational fishing.
From the coast to inland waters, the message remains clear: fishers demand to be seen, heard and respected as rightful custodians of the waters that sustain their lives and cultures. The new minister must prioritise dialogue, accountability and justice for small-scale fishing communities. DM
Nobathembu Ndzengu and Jordan Volmink are with the Masifundise Development Trust, an organisation working with small-scale fishers in coastal and inland communities. It mobilises and empowers fishers to defend their rights and challenge unjust policies.