For Immediate Release
8 June 2026
Buffeljagsbaai Kelp Allocation Dispute: Continued Delays Deepen Hardship for Fishing Community
Members of the Seawhale Small-Scale Fishing Cooperative in Buffelsjagbaai travelled to the Western Cape High Court on 4 June 2026 to attend the hearing of the matter between Buffeljagsbaai Marine Company (BMC) and the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), among others.
Upon arrival at court, cooperative members were informed that the matter had once again been postponed, this time until May 2027. The postponement comes as a significant blow to fishers and their families, who have already endured years of uncertainty and loss of income as a result of the ongoing dispute.
The matter originates from 2023, when BMC challenged the Department’s decision to allocate a kelp harvesting right in Concession Area 5 to the Seawhale Cooperative under the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) Policy. On 12 December 2023, BMC lodged an appeal against the Minister’s decision. Despite the ongoing dispute, BMC was granted an annual permit in 2024 to continue harvesting seaweed while the Seawhale Co-ops permit was taken away.
The Seawhale Cooperative was granted a kelp harvesting right in 2023 as part of the implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy, a long-awaited process aimed at restoring access rights and livelihoods to traditional fishing communities. The Western Cape was the last province to complete the establishment of small-scale fishing cooperatives, making the implementation of these rights particularly significant for communities such as Buffeljagsbaai.
The continued delays in resolving this matter have had severe consequences for the cooperative and the wider community. Kelp harvesting provided year-round income for cooperative members and supported households in Buffeljagsbaai. As a result of the ongoing legal dispute and delays in securing the necessary exemption to harvest, cooperative members have been left without work and without a reliable source of income.
The financial burden of these delays continues to grow. Members of the cooperative spent approximately R4,500 on travel costs to attend the hearing on 4 June, only to be informed that the matter had been postponed. For a community already struggling with limited income opportunities, this represents a significant and unnecessary expense.
Coastal Links and Masifundise support the Seawhale Cooperative’s call for this matter to be heard as a matter of urgency. We further call on the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to fast-track the cooperative’s application for an exemption to harvest kelp in Concession Area 5 while the legal process continues.
This exemption is urgently needed to enable the Cooperative to resume its livelihood activities, generate income, settle outstanding debts, maintain market relationships, and address the growing hunger and hardship facing many households in Buffeljagsbaai.
The ongoing delays and lack of resolution continue to undermine the objectives of the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy and leave fishers bearing the cost of prolonged legal and administrative processes. Every additional postponement extends the suffering of fishing families and further threatens the economic survival of the community.
We therefore urge both the courts and the Department to prioritise this matter and take the necessary steps to ensure that the livelihoods of fishers in Buffelsjagbaai are no longer held hostage by continued delays and indecision.
For media enquiries, please contact:
- Sarah Niemand, Seawhale SSF Co-op
+27 82 723 8804
- Kiesha Leonard, Seawhale SSF Co-op
+27 79 889 2020
- Karen Groenewald, Seawhale SSF Co-op
+27 79 475 1097
- Jordan Volmink, Project co-ordinator, Masifundise
0791455281