We are proud to announce that Dawson Edwards has successfully represented the appellants (SASMIA and the South African Squid Management Industrial Association) in a landmark Full Bench appeal before the Western Cape High Court concerning the allocation and management of South Africa’s squid fishery resources. The judgment, handed down on 6 August 2026, is reported at www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/393. SASMIA applied in the court a quo for the judicial review of certain decisions of the Department and the Minister in terms of which 15% of the annual squid TAE was allocated to the small-scale fishing sector. The court a quo dismissed the application on in limine grounds, whereafter SASMIA appealed to a Full Bench with leave of the court a quo. The Full Bench unanimously upheld the appeal, set aside the judgment of the court a quo, dismissed the respondents’ preliminary objections, granted condonation, and remitted the matter to the court a quo for determination of the substantive merits.
This judgment is of considerable importance to the South African fishing industry. It confirms that disputes concerning access to marine resources, quota allocations, and the balance between commercial and small-scale fishing interests should not be overlooked in the consideration of procedural technicalities, where substantial questions of legality and public importance are at stake.
In a powerful statement that underscores the significance of the issues at stake, the Full Bench held:
“… the underlying merits of the present dispute have profound structural implications for both the commercial and small-scale squid fishing sectors. Allowing a procedural bottleneck to insulate a potentially flawed administrative decision would constitute a grave failure of justice.”
The Court further recognised that the matter raises issues with “far-reaching implications for the fishing industry” and that the interests of justice required the dispute to be fully ventilated before the courts.
For industry participants, the judgment reinforces the fundamental principles of transparency, accountability, lawful decision-making, and proper stakeholder engagement in the allocation and management of South Africa’s marine living resources. When the matter returns to the court a quo on the full merits, this will pave the way for judicial clarity on critical issues affecting the future structure and governance of the squid sector and potentially other fisheries.
We congratulate our clients on their perseverance and this important result, and acknowledge the outstanding work of the Dawson Edwards legal team which included Senior Counsel Adv P Farlam SC and Adv M Steenkamp SC. This is yet another matter since our inception 30 years ago where we have helped shape the present and future of fisheries administration and resource allocation in South Africa.