Johannesburg - I&J, the seafood subsidiary of Anglovaal Industries (AVI), would continue to process the bulk of its catch on land to help boost its allocation of fishing quotas, the listed industrial management company said this week.
"Land-based processing creates more jobs and that helps our quotas. We are deliberately a major employer in fish," said Angus Band, AVI's managing director.
I&J employs about 3 300 workers in the local fishing industry. On average, land-based processing employs between 65 and 70 workers per 1 000 tons, against 20 workers for the same tonnage on freezer vessels.
Band's comments came as the government announced this week that black empowerment had reached "satisfactory" levels in the fishing industry, with more than 80 percent of quotas in some commercial fishing sectors allocated to black-owned companies.
The lower quotas allocated to I&J and rival Sea Harvest have reduced their combined catch by about 25 000 tons in the past five years.
In 1996, I&J was allocated 35.4 percent of the total allowable catch for hake and 21 percent for abalone. The figures have been cut to 27.4 percent and 7.4 percent respectively.
Roy Gordon, the chief executive of I&J, said holders of small deep-sea and longline quotas - who benefited from the quota shake-up - employed a fraction of workers per tonnage caught compared with traditionally strong players in the industry.
"There has been a very successful transformation of the industry where it pertains to management and ownership," he said. "But when you talk about E the redistribution of industrial fishing sector rights, it's been totally detrimental to the economy. I would argue there's been a net loss of about 600 jobs."
Band said the reduced quotas had forced AVI to look abroad for acquisitions in the white-fish business. Last August it acquired Alpesca, a seafood operation based in Argentina.
He said further acquisitions were being sought "as we have a good business model and believe we can add value". However, he ruled out acquisitions in the over-fished waters of the northern hemisphere.
Asked if another South American acquisition was likely, Band said: "As long as we have an appetite for risk, yes. But we want a strong regulatory regime and long-term quotas in place."
AVI, which last week reported a 26 percent rise in headline earnings to R243 million, closed 20c lower at R13.10 yesterday.