THE EXPLOITATION OF COASTAL INVERTEBRATES AND SEAWEEDS IN SOUTH-AFRICA - HISTORICAL TRENDS, ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT

This review traces the development of South African coastal fisheries from prehistory to the present. Three phases are identified - a low-in tensity prehistoric phase, in which attention was focused on easily ac cessed intertidal species, a period of rapidly increasing commercialis ation and technological development, covering most of the present cent ury, and a newly emerging phase of increasing species and product dive rsification. The effects of exploitation on both the target stocks the mselves, and their associated communities, are examined. The populatio n densities and size distributions of many target species have been ra dically impacted by human exploitation and such effects are generally well documented. The effects of exploitation on community dynamics are far less well appreciated, but they can be equally dramatic and may c arry major economic implications. For example, rock lobster, sea urchi ns, abalone and kelp are linked by a complex web of biological interac tions. Options for improving the management strategies applicable to c oastal marine resources are discussed, including the need for manageme nt at the level of ecosystems rather than species, the revision of reg ulations to accommodate biological and social realities, and the feasi bility of novel approaches such as the encouragement of cc-operatives, co-management and coastal zonation of different types of harvesting.