Other Areas

Biofuels

There is great potential for the effective introduction of biofuels to South Africa. Some large businesses have also recently indicated their interest in biofuel usage. Tongaat Hulet (owner of Hulet Sugar) is considering the prospects for biofuel. This, it appears, is driven from the motivation that that domestic sugar production is not globally competitive as markets for sugar are declining and diversification of business is required. Bio-ethanol  production from sugar cane may is possible (a plant like this exists in Zimbabwe).

Wine

On 31 March 2006, the inaugural KwaZulu-Natal wines were launched under the Stables Wine label made from 2005 vintage grapes from Bracken, Greytown.

www.stableswine.co.za

Hunting

Hunting is a popular tourism activity. In a Report to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism by a Panel of Experts on Professional and Recreational Hunting in South Africa, 25 October 2005, it was mentioned that there are many opportunities for promoting or advancing transformation of the hunting industry. These include options for greater community involvement in hunting, greater ownership of extensive wildlife production units by previously disadvantaged individuals and employment opportunities in all high skilled occupations associated with both the hunting industry and its ancillary industries.

This transformation must be promoted through a number of processes: a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Charter and Score-card, a skills development strategy and an assortment of support strategies for communities that either currently own land or are to acquire land that has extensive wildlife production potential.

See http://www.kznhunters.co.za/

Fishing

The marine life is diverse, making sea-fishing an enormously popular activity along the entire KwaZulu-Natal coastline. Trout fishing is popular inland. Recreational fishing is popular with tourists and locals.

The Government has published a set of policy guidelines for the allocation of commercial fishing rights. The guidelines alerted applicants to the fact that specific criteria, such as black economic empowerment, employment equity, investment and experience in the fishing industry would carry a weighting in the adjudication process, and stipulated that applicants would be required to elucidate the ways in which their companies met these criteria in their applications. The industry is regulated by Marine and Coastal Management. Three TACs (Total Allowable Catch) are set a year. MCM has established the Fishing Effort and Vessel Change Advisory Committee to monitor fishing effort.

Fishery stocks are managed using a variety of methods:

  • Assigning fishing rights under authority of a permit. 
  • Determining fishing quotas to each permit (a function of the Total Allowable Catch) 
  • Setting minimum size limits. 
  • Placing restrictions on the type of gear that may be used to catch. 
  • Having closed seasons. 
  • Having closed areas. 
  • Restricting the effort (e.g. limiting the number of fishermen on a squid jigging boat).

Commercial farming of indigenous prawns

White Prawn or LM prawns (Peneaus indicus) are indigenous to the KZN Coastal waters. Amatikulu Prawns (Pty) Ltd have done groundbreaking work in the cultivation of indigenous prawns in South Africa. Mtunzini recognizes the potential of prawn and fish farming in the region. Their expertise, in partnership with the government's integrated rural development plan, could see the development of more farms in the future. This sort of development will take the shape of co-operative type farming which the government is willing to fund through Development Agencies.