Port St Francis, East London and Coega identified as potential ADZ sites

East London and Port St Francis as well as Coega have also been identified as potential sites for an aquaculture development zone (ADZ).

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), on ADZs. which was released for public comment in 2011, identified an area of 41 613 hectares, some 1.6 kilometres from the East London harbour.

The SEA, which was commissioned by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF)

The SEA says that two potential ADZ sites were identified in St Francis Bay. One zone is 1 474 hectares in extent starting 14 kilometres from the harbour entrance— “actually within Jeffrey’s Bay” – and the second, starting 2.7 kilometres from the port entrance, at 47 hectares in extent “is not large enough to function as an ADZ”.

An area measuring 4.929 hectares, some 16 kilometres from the entrance to the Port of Ngqura was also identified.

All three of these areas, according to the SEA , “met the site selection criteria for potential finfish aquaculture development zone, using offshore cage technology”.

At this stage, however, it would appear that an environmental impact assessment (EIA), which includes a public participation process and which, according to the SEA, will be a requirement for each ADZ, has so far only been conducted for the sites identified in Algoa Bay.

“Article published from Metro Minutes by Patrick Cull”.