Abstract
White mussels (Donax serra) are widely distributed from northern Namibia to the Eastern Cape of South Africa and are harvested along sandy beaches in the intertidal zone, and mainly during spring low tides. They are harvested by the broader recreational sector along the entire extent of their distribution range as part of a general bait permit, but the commercial sector is restricted to the west coast on the basis of abundance. The high abundance in this region is linked to higher plankton production, compared to the rest of the South African coast. In 2006, a new term of 2-year rights, which is extended by another two years, was allocated in this sector, still restricted to the west coast and for bait purposes only. In the past, each right holder was limited to a monthly catch of 2000 mussels, however since October 2006, the monthly catch limit was lifted, with the aim of improving the quality of catch and effort data for future use in resource assessments. A minimum legal size of 35mm is applied for both the commercial and recreational sectors. Harvesting of white mussels is retained as a developing fishing sector and limited to seven areas along the west coast. Each of the seven right holders are allocated one of seven commercial fishing areas along the west coast from the area north of the border of Koeberg Power Station at Bokpunt, up to Oliphants River mouth in Lamberts Bay. Preliminary results show substantially varying numbers of mussel abundance across the different areas sampled. This ARTICLE describes briefly the history of this fishery, processes involved in the establishment of this fishery, as well as preliminary results and the proposed way forward.