Sixty-four fishers from Hangberg who qualified as skippers after completing their training earlier this year held a gratitude ceremony at Hout Bay Harbour on Monday November 18 to thank the South African Fisheries Development Fund and various sponsors.

South African Fisheries Development Fund managing director Dr Mark Botha said the training followed the fund’s decision a couple of years ago to focus on empowering fishing communities.

“The aim of the training was to provide holistic and targeted development initiatives to strengthen the community,” he said.

The training included personal survival techniques, firefighting, first aid, crowd management and passenger safety, and various organisations, including the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), the Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta), the Food and Beverages Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta), and the Fisheries Economic Development Research Advisory and Training Institute (Fedrati) were involved.

The Hangberg Peace and Mediation Forum’s vice chairperson, Gregg Louw, said the training would help to strengthen the community.

“If you hear about Hangberg, there’s always this negative label that gets attached, but we want people to know there’s positive news like these skills development courses that are crucial for our people who are making a living on the ocean.”

Newly qualified skipper Donovan van der Heyden said he had made many new friends during the training.

Some of the fishers graduated with a category C qualification, which takes them up to 50 nautical miles from shore and the safest port, while others achieved a category B qualification, which takes them up to 40 nautical miles on 9-metre vessels, Mr Louw said.

Rudy Quanson, the chairperson of the 250-member Hangberg York Point Primary Cooperative, said the training had opened new doors for the community.

“It has empowered individuals with crucial skills that will greatly enhance their opportunities to improve their living standards. Under the direction of Dr Botha, the fund and Fedrati’s dedication to uplift and advance fishers' capabilities is truly inspiring, and we are deeply appreciative of his continued support.”

Dr Botha said he hoped to continue sponsoring training programmes in Hangberg in the future.

“We hope to expand and continue these skills development programmes in Hangberg, but we first need to identify the needs of the community. We also don’t want to just focus on fishing but rather broaden our vision and to include fish processing, which will be a source of income and empowerment for the community,” Dr Botha said.

Hangberg fishers pose for a photo during their firefighting training at the Shipping and Transport College in Cape Town last year.

Newly qualified Hangberg skipper Georgio Gallant took some of the guests at the gratitude ceremony for a trip around Hout Bay Harbour.

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