{"id":60230,"date":"2026-03-24T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/?p=60230"},"modified":"2026-04-02T10:55:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:55:48","slug":"fields-of-gold-part-2-community-voices-on-extractive-economies-from-doringbaai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/blog\/60230\/fields-of-gold-part-2-community-voices-on-extractive-economies-from-doringbaai\/","title":{"rendered":"Fields of gold PART 2: Community voices on extractive economies from Doringbaai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A note on this story series: Political leaders and big business often push the narrative that oil and gas extraction is a development imperative. Travelling between Cape Town and Port Nolloth by bus, minibus taxi and foot, Greenpeace Africa volunteer Milan Burnett and photographer Tom van der Schijff spent 10 days on the West Coast of South Africa, home to many oil, gas and other mining projects, to gather perspectives from coastal communities on this narrative. A huge thank you to Masifundise Development Trust and Protect the West Coast for their help. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Joey Stevens shares his knowledge of the ocean against the backdrop of the Doringbaai harbour complex (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Joey Stevens is 73 years old but still pulls in the fishing lines with ease. He has spent a lifetime on the water; Stevens first went to sea in 1969, the same year his father drowned on a fishing trip. Anyone else would describe the Atlantic ocean as cold. Just cold. But Stevens explains that at different times of the year the temperature of the ocean causes the fish to behave differently. By trailing his hand through the water Stevens knows how far away the snoek-run is; when to fish and when to look forward to the snoek he will catch from the fruits of his knowledge. <\/p>\n\n

The Doringbaai fish factory that hugs the coast, closed in 2006, was where Stevens\u2019 mother worked during the day, while his father worked on the sea that bashes the windows of the factory. During the day his mother and father worked together; his father was one of many men of Doringbaai who brought in the ocean\u2019s gifts while his mother\u2019s hands, one of many mother\u2019s hands, processed the fish. Stevens has never left the sea for more than a few days: \u201cIf I left the sea I would die,\u201d he says. Through groundswell socio-economic changes since 1969, Stevens\u2019 bond with the sea has been constant; it has built his character and his family. <\/p>\n\n

But in the background, a fierce battle is being waged for families like Joey\u2019s, a battle fought on multiple fronts. The first fight is for the legal right to access the ocean. The second fight is against oil and gas exploration. <\/p>\n\n

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Andre Cloete speaks to Greenpeace Africa (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Andre Cloete is the Western Cape Chairperson of Coastal Links, an advocacy network of fishing communities around South Africa. Cloete, born in the fishing village of Papendorp and living in Doringbaai, has been fishing since his early teens. After 1994, says Cloete, the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) separated<\/a> fishing rights into three categories; commercial, subsistence, and recreational. \u201cNowhere in that window was there provision made for traditional fishers, people who were born in the sea, born in the river, born in the water, to have automatic access,\u201d says Cloete. This meant that in communities like Doringbaai, families like Stevens\u2019 who have lived from the sea for generations, were left disadvantaged. Cloete says that fishing communities started lobbying the Government against the restrictive fishing laws contained in the MLRA in the late 1990s. <\/p>\n\n

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Pedro Engelbrecht shares memories of Doringbaai while showing photographs  (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In 2007, after years of lobbying, protesting and legal action by fishing communities, the Equality Court of South Africa ruled<\/a> that the Government must recognise the right of fishing communities to access the ocean and participate in the ocean economy. Cloete explains that the Court ordered<\/a> the Government to develop a small-scale fishing policy in conjunction with civil society, a policy which was gazetted<\/a> in 2012. Cloete says that the policy was supposed to recognise the right of inclusion for fishing communities in the ocean economy and level the playing fields between business interests and community livelihoods. As Cloete describes, this is important because \u201cWhen they speak of the economy, they forget that your life\u2019s existence is coupled to the sea. They never looked at the social impact of the traditional fisher or the small-scale fisher in the community.\u201d Cloete says that although the policy has been implemented, the lived reality falls far short of what the Court ordered in 2007. Cloete explains that the commercial fishing industry is still granted the lion\u2019s share \u2013 at least 67%<\/a> in 2025 depending on the species \u2013 of the fishing quota. Cloete says the impact of this dynamic on the community is huge: \u201cWe grew up with the notion that if I go to sea or to the river and come back with fish, then the whole street has fish, regardless of whether you are a fisherman or not, because everyone must eat. You had that connection to your community. This is what makes communities live; the interaction between each other and that interaction with the source.\u201d Cloete says that the declining fish stocks and the unequal allocation of quotas mean that this interaction is more difficult to practice.<\/p>\n\n

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Pedro Engelbrecht on the Doringbaai Public Jetty. Behind him in the distance is a stretch of beach littered with old diamond mines (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Pedro Engelbrecht (49), born in Doringbaai and Chairperson of the Doringbaai Fishing Cooperative, says that the restrictions placed on fishing communities have huge implications for food insecurity in his community: \u201cWe are living from the ocean, how can we survive if we are not allowed to access the sea?\u201d asks Engelbrecht. Jimmy Arendse (59), a fisherman from Doringbaai, has the same concern: \u201cYou must think about us. Our fishermen. How will I live without the fish and kreef [West Coast rock lobster]?\u201d The concerns raised in Doringbaai echoed those of this report by Greenpeace Africa<\/a> on commercial fishing dynamics in West Africa, which documented the \u201cincreased pressure on fish stocks from industrial fishing fleets, threatening the food security and jobs of millions of people [in coastal communities].\u201d The synergy between the fight of Doringbaai fishers and those elsewhere in Africa is important because it highlights how the exclusion of fishing communities from accessing their livelihoods is part of a broader struggle by coastal communities for inclusion.<\/p>\n\n

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Jimmy Arendse in the midday sun of Doringbaai (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

But the exclusion of small-scale fishers from the ocean is just one front on the battleline of the community\u2019s fight for their livelihoods. With around 90%<\/a> of South Africa\u2019s exclusive economic ocean zone under concessions to mining companies, Engelbrecht says that mining and exclusion from the ocean are part of the same system of resource exploitation. \u201cI\u2019m 49. I was born in this town, my parents were born in this town, I am a bona fide indigenous person, we raised our children in the sea,\u201d says Engelbrecht. \u201cOur fight has become for our customary rights, for our children to access the ocean that gives us life.\u201d This is what oil and gas exploration threatens for Engelbrecht and many others in this community: \u201cI see the danger coming. The challenge is not only now, but for our community, for our children to live,\u201d says Engelbrecht.<\/p>\n\n

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A confrontation between private security and Pedro Engelbrecht grew heated outside the Doringbaai harbour complex, after the interruption of an interview with Engelbrecht on the public jetty (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Engelbrecht\u2019s fight for inclusion in this community was made clear when during an interview, we were removed from the harbour by private security who said Engelbrecht needed permission to give an interview. Youngsters and other community members Greenpeace Africa spoke to on the beach say Engelbrecht\u2019s removal is a common experience; they are frequently prevented from swimming and fishing on the jetty, where many in this community say they learnt to fish and swim. Deborah Dewee, founder of local women’s group \u2018Spirit of Endeavour Fisherfolk Woman\u2019, says: \u201cThis [jetty] is our tradition, this is our young children\u2019s tradition.\u201d Engelbrecht agrees, saying that this dynamic speaks to the broader issue on this coastline of the privatisation of public resources, whereby natural resources are extracted at the cost of the community\u2019s livelihoods and customary rights. <\/p>\n\n

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Map of petroleum exploration or production activities in South Africa (Map from the Petroleum Agency of South Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Those who oppose this dynamic are punished, says activist and Ward Councillor Davine Witbooi from neighbouring Lutzville. This is no exaggeration; Witbooi and other activists were sued<\/a> for a collective R14.5 million under a SLAPP (Strategic lawsuit against public participation) action by Australian owned Mineral Sands Resources (MSR), which operated Tormin mine just above Lutzville. After a lengthy court battle<\/a>, Deputy Judge President of the Western Cape High Court Patricia Goliath dismissed the SLAPP case<\/a>, warning that: \u201c[c]orporations should not be allowed to weaponise our legal system against the ordinary citizens and activists in order to intimidate and silence them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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The aftermath of an oil spill near Doringbaai, with damage to the cliffs from diamond mining in the background (Photo: South African Marine Safety Authority)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Those behind Operation Phakisa<\/a> \u2013 the Government plan to develop the ocean economy \u2013 say resource extraction is part of a strategy to create jobs and generate wealth for the people. But Engelbrecht disagrees: \u201cWe have the resources but we don\u2019t make the money. There is nothing for the fisherpeople, we don\u2019t see the social benefits. Oil and gas works for them, it makes them rich. The Minister benefits, but what gives you the right to take away someone\u2019s customary rights? You can\u2019t buy our rights. The Minister says that oil and gas is important for development. But that development is not for us, it’s for them to get rich. You can\u2019t live from oil. Where will the minister be when our sea is black from oil? When I go to sea without catching anything?\u201d Engelbrecht\u2019s reference to a black sea is not an abstraction on this coast; in 2025, the cargo ship MV Ultra Galaxy ran aground<\/a> off this coast, turning the beach black with 500 tons of diesel and a cargo of fertiliser. Fishers Greenpeace Africa spoke to said that they caught nothing for weeks around the time of the oil spill. While the MV Ultra Galaxy was not linked to oil and gas exploration, Engelbrecht and others in this community fear that oil and gas extraction could mean similar spills, a concern echoed by this report<\/a> which modelled possible oil spills in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n

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The view from Deborah Dewee\u2019s window onto the Doringbaai coast (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Deborah Dewee speaks to Greenpeace Africa in  Doringbaai. (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Arendse agrees with Engelbrecht on the disconnect between community benefits and the fossil fuel industry\u2019s profits: \u201cThe benefits go to them. I won\u2019t get a cent from that oil. What must I do with oil? That oil and gas is for them, not for us. We come last.\u201d Dewee adds that: \u201cNothing comes back into the community but it\u2019s our resources, our livelihoods that are gonna be destroyed.\u201d These voices echo the perspectives of Port Nolloth, covered in Part 1 of this series<\/a>, who say that development promises never materialise. For these communities, the notion that resource extraction leads to development outcomes is not a straightforward tradeoff; resource extraction directly threatens the livelihoods of coastal communities while the socio-economic benefits are often elusive. <\/p>\n\n

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Produce in the Doringbaai community garden. (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The concerns shared by these voices in Doringbaai is why Dewee is looking for alternatives to build food security in this community. \u201cThis oil and gas is going to kill us. And in what way? We are going to starve from hunger,\u201d says Dewee. For this reason, Dewee, with other community members, started a community vegetable garden which services the community soup kitchen. The long term goal, says Dewee, is to develop a sustainable food system for this community: \u201cOur long term plan is to sell food from the garden so our women can support themselves.\u201d But this is about more than food security. \u201cIf we let the mining go ahead, our children\u2019s culture will seep away from them. My father was a fisherman for 50 years. He was 16 when he went to sea. With oil and gas they are going to kill the livelihood of the fishers. This is our financial income, this is our food system. So for them it’s going to be development, not for Doringbaai.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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Seasoned Doringbaai fishers in the shade (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The first democratic Constitution, recognising South Africa\u2019s long history of exploitation and autocratic rule before 1994, enshrines the importance of community consultation and participatory democracy to prevent disconnects between national policy and community needs. However, community members in Doringbaai believe that the current landscape of resource extraction and fishing rights means that the situation on the ground is very different: \u201cNo one asked me since the day I was born. They just do what they want,\u201d says Arendse. For Dewee, the solution is clear: \u201cBefore they make decisions,\u201d says Dewee, \u201ccome to the traditional people who are living on the coast. Come to us, and hear from us, don\u2019t just sit in your office, come to the people on the ground floor, let that people guide you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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PART 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fields of gold PART 1: Community voices on extractive economies from the Richtersveld<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ HERE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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PART 3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fields of gold PART 3: Voices on extractive economies from Ebenhaeser and Hondeklipbaai<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ HERE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But in the background, a fierce battle is being waged for families like Joey\u2019s, a battle fought on multiple fronts. The first fight is for the legal right to access the ocean. The second fight is against oil and gas exploration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":60251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[46,65],"p4-page-type":[126],"class_list":["post-60230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-protecttheenvironment","tag-greenpeaceafrica","tag-southafrica","p4-page-type-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60230"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60407,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60230\/revisions\/60407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60230"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=60230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}