The new democracy, new constitution, bill of rights and a new fisheries policy created an action space for all previously disadvantaged individuals or blacks1 to benefit from the redistribution and transformation processes in South Africa. The redistribution of fishing rights to coastal communities forms one of die corner stones of South Africa's new fisheries policy. In the quest to achieve this, the government has tried a number of formulas to increase the number of previously disadvantaged individuals into the fishing sector. Initially from 1994 to 1998, entitlement formed a key strategy. After 1998, with the enactment of new Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA—Republic of South Africa 1998), race and gender were instrumental in how established industry maintained their fishing rights. In 2001 the government tried a social policy through the introduction of subsistence permits to address poverty along the coast. In 2002 a medium term was introduced to create stability with fishing rights. The success of the new entrants depended on the opportunities and constraints and their ability to take advantage of the new space created by the MLRA. This depended on their entrepreneurship skills, ability to raise capital, link to an organization, and accessto information. This paper reviews the various formulas the fisheries department (Marine and Coastal Management) embarked on in restructuring and transforming the industry, how communities have attempted to take advantage of the action space and whether the new dispensation has the potential to contribute towards the socioeconomic upliftment of formerly marginalized coastal communities.
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