Reforming South Africa’s Fishing Laws to Protect Endangered Marine Life

Endangered species don’t belong on dinner plates. It’s time to align South Africa’s fishing laws with conservation science.

Across South Africa’s oceans, some of our most iconic and ecologically vital marine species are facing extinction. Yet many are still legally caught and retained under current recreational and commercial fishing regulations, including species already recognised as Critically Endangered or Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

Sharks like the critically endangered ragged-tooth and soupfin, as well as overexploited fish like red steenbras and dageraad, remain on South Africa’s Permitted Species Lists. Some species appear as “prohibited” in public brochures, but without being formally gazetted, these designations lack legal enforcement and are functionally meaningless in practice.

At Earth Legacy Foundation, we believe endangered means protected, not permitted.

We call on the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to:

1. Remove all IUCN-listed Critically Endangered and Endangered marine species from South Africa’s Permitted Catch Lists.
2. Formally gazette the prohibited status of all Sphyrna spp.
3. Adopt a science-led, precautionary approach to fisheries management, aligning with international frameworks such as the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
4. Enforce relevant measures already agreed upon under Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, such as IOTC and ICCAT.
5. Engage marine scientists and ocean advocates in shaping transparent and ecologically sound fishing regulations.

Why This Matters

• Several of South Africa’s permitted species are classified as Critically Endangered (CR) or Endangered (EN) by the IUCN.
• Species classed as CR are nearing collapse and might not withstand any further exploitation.
• The continued inclusion of EN and CR species for capture contradicts both conservation science and legal obligations under South Africa’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, NEM:BA, and our international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, ICCAT, and IOTC.
• This campaign is backed by scientists, NGOs, and ocean advocates globally.

Why It’s Urgent

Extinction is forever. And without clear legal protections, we’re allowing irreplaceable species to disappear, simply because the law hasn’t caught up with science.

What You Can Do

Open Letter: Calling for the Removal of Endangered Marine Species from South Africa’s Permitted Catch List

To:
The Honourable Minister Willie Aucamp
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Republic of South Africa

Subject: Urgent Appeal to Align National Catch Regulations with Global Conservation Standards

We, the undersigned marine scientists, conservationists, and environmental organisations from South Africa and around the world, urgently call for the removal of Critically Endangered and Endangered shark species from South Africa’s Permitted Catch List for recreational and commercial fisheries.

With marine ecosystems under growing pressure from overfishing, habitat degradation, and climate change, it is critical that South Africa’s fisheries regulations reflect global scientific consensus and uphold our international commitments. These include obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA). As a Contracting Party to Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), South Africa must also enforce internationally agreed-upon measures in national law and practice.

The Problem

Currently, several elasmobranch species listed as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are legally permitted to be caught or retained under South Africa’s Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA), both recreationally and commercially.

ANNEXE: List of Prohibited/Restricted Shark Species under South African Fisheries Regulations

CMS mandates that “Parties that are a Range State to a migratory species listed on Appendix I shall endeavour” to strictly protect them by: prohibiting the taking of such species, with very restricted scope for exceptions (CMS); therefore, their take should also be prohibited by South Africa’s national legislation, as a signatory to the Sharks MOU.

The current recreational permit structure permits retention of 1 shark per day per angler (if not specifically listed with a defined bag limit or prohibited), creating a loophole that leaves even Endangered species unprotected. Additionally, species such as Sphyrna spp. are labelled “prohibited” in public materials but have not been formally gazetted, leaving enforcement agents without legal backing to prosecute violations.

Furthermore, South Africa is party to international fisheries management bodies such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), both of which have adopted prohibitions on the retention of certain threatened shark species. ICCAT prohibits the retention of all members of the family of Sphyrnidae (except Sphyrna tiburon) and the retention of Alopias superciliosus in the Atlantic and Isurus oxyrinchus in the North Atlantic, In the South Atlantic, South Africa has a catch allowance of Isurus oxyrinchus of 154 tonnes that is limited to the retention of dead animals from 2025 onwards, while all live animals must be released and all discards are to be reported in the logbooks according to ICCAT Rec 2022-11, IOTC prohibits the retention of all three species of the family of Alopidae. However, without domestic enforcement and alignment throughout all fisheries and gear types, these protections remain ineffective in practice.

Regulations around sharks on South Africa’s prohibited species list are inconsistent: in some fisheries, prohibited sharks must be discarded, while in others, they must be landed and handed over to a Fisheries Control Officer. To complicate matters further, not all shark species that carry a retention ban under ICCAT and/or IOTC are reflected on South Africa’s prohibited species list for commercial traditional line fishing.

Allowing pelagic longliners to land up to 50% of their total catch as sharks, including CITES-listed species, is inconsistent with South Africa’s stated prohibition on targeted shark fishing. This policy not only undermines the precautionary approach but also makes it almost inevitable that the precautionary upper catch limit (PUCL) of 1,000 tonnes will be exceeded, unless all pelagic longliners are effectively shut down once the limit is reached.

South Africa must fulfil its obligations under these frameworks by updating and harmonising its national catch regulations, including retention bans from RFMOs and the protection of species on CMS App I, in a consistent manner across all of its fisheries, enabling local enforcement to reflect international commitments.

Our Call to Action

We respectfully urge the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) to:

Why This Matters

1. Remove all IUCN-listed Critically Endangered and Endangered elasmobranch species from South Africa’s recreational and commercial Permitted Catch Lists.
2. Gazette the “prohibited” status of all listed species currently reflected in brochures, ensuring legal enforceability.
3. Update slot limits, bag allowances, and permit conditions for threatened sharks to align with scientific recommendations and international quotas, where applicable. This includes mandating monofilament leaders and large circle hooks on all longline gear to reduce bycatch mortality, following suit from pelagic longliners that are already implementing this method.
4. Ensure full compliance with binding conservation and reporting measures adopted under RFMOs such as ICCAT and IOTC, and incorporate these consistently for all fisheries into national legislation and enforcement.
5. Amend the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) and associated permit policies to reflect IUCN conservation status, the precautionary approach, and South Africa’s obligations under CMS and CITES.
6. Harmonise the list of prohibited species throughout all fisheries (including recreational fishing) and include all species that have a retention ban in either ICCAT and/or IOTC into the list of prohibited species. Also, harmonise the requirements for all fisheries on how to proceed with species, for which retention is prohibited on board, requiring all dead animals to be landed and reported, but handed to the Fisheries Control Officer for destruction to ensure no commercial incentives can be derived from such catches. We encourage you to combine the lists of elasmobranchs prohibited from retention in either one of the fisheries into a compiled non-retention list binding for all fisheries to improve protection of threatened elasmobranchs.
7. Limit the allowable bycatch of sharks in large-size longline fisheries to a maximum of 30% of the total catch, or less, to ensure vessels are not targeting sharks in certain areas or over certain time periods. Also consider substantially reducing the PUC limit in 2026. Fisheries bycatch should be checked monthly, and if the maximum allowed annual catch has been reached, those fisheries should shut down for the rest of the year.
8. Comply with all conservation and management measures adopted by ICCAT and IOTC, including the prohibition of any retention of shortfin mako sharks when still alive at the time of hauling to the boat and restricting the retention of dead shortfin mako sharks to the presence of a human observer or functioning EMS on board.
9. Engage in transparent stakeholder collaboration, bringing together scientists, NGOs, fishers, and community leaders, to develop ecologically sustainable, socially equitable fisheries policies.
10. Remove all exceptions and bag limits for recreational fishing of prohibited shark species to ensure consistency and enforceability across all fisheries. Additionally, require recreational fishers to report all live releases and the condition of sharks at release.

Failing to protect species at risk of extinction both damages marine ecosystems and South Africa’s global reputation as a leader in conservation. It weakens public trust, threatens biodiversity and ocean resilience, and ignores the growing scientific consensus on the need for urgent regulatory reform and the long-term sustainability of fisheries.

This is a rare opportunity for swift, low-cost, and high-impact policy reform that will be applauded by the public, supported by science, and aligned with global conservation leadership.

We stand ready to assist the department in making this transition and request a meeting with Minister Dion George to further discuss this in detail. We respectfully call for your immediate attention and leadership on this urgent matter.

Yours sincerely