Madam Speaker, it has been approximately one year since the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism decided to close the abalone fishery. It is now time for him to reconsider his decision. The decision to close the fishery has caused much hardship for coastal communities. The Minister promised a social relief plan for the fishers but this was not delivered.
This year in September, I asked the Minister in a parliamentary question whether his department's efforts to reduce abalone poaching have been successful. The Minister said that poaching has been reduced. If this is true, then it is time to look again at whether the fishery can be opened in at least some of the zones.
I want to remind the Minister that the 2007-08 scientific report from the abalone working group stated that four zones could have small legal abalone fisheries. Yet he still closed all the fisheries. The report also says that if poaching could be brought under control in Zones A and B, the areas east of Hermanus, then those zones could support a large, legal abalone fishery. If the Minister says that the poaching of abalone has been reduced, then he must consider opening the abalone fisheries again. I thank you. [Applause.]