Dave Bryant is the DA's Shadow Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.

The sudden removal of fishing rights from some of South Africa's top tuna fishing skippers and companies is a body blow to the individual fishers concerned, but is a potential windfall to other countries.

There are growing concerns in the South African fishing sector around the outcomes of the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (Frap) and the conclusion of the small-scale fishing process for the Western Cape, which comprises the majority of fish stocks in the country. The Frap appeals process has already been further extended after many traditional fisherfolk were excluded from the initial process when their applications were rejected.

Access to precious fishing rights dominates discussions in the sector. These authorisations allow fisherfolk to fish commercially and without these permissions, they may not sell a single sardine.

South Africa is blessed with rich waters. Prevailing currents and winds work to stir up nutrients from the sea floor and support a wealth of species. Phytoplankton blooms and supports an ecosystem with sardines, squid, horse mackerel, anchovies, hake, tuna, sharks and others.

To protect this treasure from overfishing, scientists work out how much fish can be caught while still...