The contribution of trout fly fishing to the economy of Rhodes, North Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Recent government legislation, which calls for the eradication of trout from ecosystems where they may cause harm, could damage the tourism appeal of many South African catchments. However, no South African studies have tried to quantify the economic impact of removing trout from rivers and streams. This study aimed first to value the Rhodes trout fishery, North Eastern Cape, South Africa, and second to assess whether the trout fly fishing industry in Rhodes could form the foundation for the implementation of a local economic development initiative. Overall, the study found that the trout fishing industry directly generates approximately R5�658�240 per annum, and sustains a minimum of 39 direct job opportunities for the community of Rhodes, and can therefore provide the impetus for the creation of a tourism-based local economic development programme.direct expenditure, local economic development, trout, tourism, fly fishing, job opportunities, Rhodes village, North Eastern Cape, South Africa,

The Political Economy of South African Trout Fisheries

“…To the extent that trout is the most successful aquacultural species, economists argue that food security, exports, employment, and poverty reduction must be decisive factors in shaping biodiversity policy change. So long as trout supports a large as well as expanding fishing tourism sector, economists argue that the tourism associated with the species must be an additional decisive factor in guiding biodiversity policy (Du Preez and Hosking 2011;Du Preez and Lee 2010).…”

“…Thus, even though the National Water Act of 1998 nationalized water and revoked riparian rights, these syndicated waters remained private. A good example is the Rhodes Village trout fisheries where over sixty riparian landowners, under a management contract, transferred harvesting, access, exclusion, and management rights to Wild Trout Association and Mosheshs' Ford Angling Club Downloaded by [Universite Laval] at 03:14 04 October 2015 (Du Preez and Lee 2010). As the Veblenian theory of the leisure class predicts, the institution of private property is foundational to the development of leisure class and sits at the heart of the power structure that environmental policy has to deal with (Samuels 1972).…”

Managing conflicts arising from fisheries enhancements based on non‐native fishes in southern Africa

“…non‐native fisheries yield comparisons. Indications are that they are significant contributors to local and regional economies (Du Preez & Lee, ; McCafferty et al ., ): participation in centrarchid recreational fisheries in South Africa in 2007 was estimated to be around 20 000 anglers (M. Leibold & C. J. van Zyl, unpubl. data); however, no recent assessment data exist.…”

“…data). Despite high participation and the perceived socio‐economic contribution of these fishes to local and regional economies, this remains largely un‐quantified (Du Preez & Lee, ; McCafferty et al ., ). The contribution of salmonid fly‐fishing to the economy of Rhodes village, North Eastern Cape, South Africa was c .…”

An assessment of recreational bank angling in the Free State Province, South Africa, using licence sale and tournament data

“…Based on assessments of the value of recreational fisheries elsewhere in South Africa (see Du Plessis and Le Roux, 1965;Cadieux, 1980;Brand et al, 2009;Du Preez and Lee, 2010;ASA, 2016), the contribution of this activity to the economy of the Free State Province is likely to be considerable. In addition, angling for subsistence use contributes considerably to food security in some localities (see Ellender et al, 2010a).…”