 Eish, the fish farm planned for just off Pipe has been given the go-ahead, albeit in a reduced form. We have one last chance to appeal the decision - this time directly to the Government. The more appeals against the fish farm they receive, the better the chances of getting the decision reviewed. Just remember the appeals have to be a bit more formal than the "F*ck off with your fish farm" variety! Whether you're worried about a negative effect on water quality at Pollock & other local beaches from the fish food, fish waste, antibiotics & chemicals; or if there could be an increase in shark activity cos of them being attracted to the cages; the effect on the reefs & dive spots out there; or that the cages will be easily visible from land and will spoil the view, or maybe even impact upon the wave quality in the bay - whatever it is that bugs you about the siting of the fish farm - now's you last chance to object formally. In a nutshell - approval has been granted for a pilot development with a sea-floor footprint of 30ha and a surface envelope of 2.5ha, that is allowed to produce 1000t/year. Any increase to the authorised size of the proposed development will be subject to an environmental impact assessment process. If you'd like to see the full list of approval conditions, click the link to download the file. Short, easy read. 
 The pilot farm will be situated within the Algoa 1 ADZ Here's a step-by-step guide of how to appeal. Please take the time to do so, otherwise don't moan when you're sitting at Pipe staring at a bunch of cages and wondering why the water smells funny. The appeal process consists of two steps: STEP ONE Submit Notice of Intention to Appeal document and Appeal Questionnaire Deadline 29 August 2004
These two forms need to be emailed or faxed to both DEA, DAFF & CapeEAprac before the end of this week (29 August 2014). Here are the email addresses to send them to. (fax numbers on Appeal questionnaire sample form)
STEP TWO The second phase of the appeal is the detailed appeal (this is were all the nitty gritty stuff should be included) which should not be sent with the document above but should only be send to DEA, DAFF & CapeEAprac after the 1st of September, before the 20th of September. Here's where you can go into some more detail as to why you don't want the fish farm just offshore at Pipe. There is an example of an appeal below, and a template for you to write your own appeal.
Thanks to Dr Shirley Parker-Nance from NMMU for putting together all the info and documents of how the appeal process works. 
Clinton Wilson
8/25/2014 08:18:32 pm
What does the PE Tourism Board have to say about all of this, considering they promote the bay as a top water-sports destination.
Mike
8/25/2014 10:11:16 pm
What! I can't believe how we are being steamrolled again. Getting my documents filled in asap.
Anonymous
8/25/2014 11:08:58 pm
I think it's a great idea! Mariculture is a multimillion dollar industry that South Africa is ideal for! The damages to ecosystems that trawlers create is much more severe than your worries about loss of recreational activities and your ocean view due to this facility.
millerslocal
8/26/2014 07:59:35 pm
The issue isn't around marine aquaculture, which most certainly is an important option as a food source for the country - the problem is around siting it in such close proximity to the town's main bathing beaches/tourist area.
dave
8/25/2014 11:38:05 pm
Can we not get a Online petition thing going or do a surfer protest at pipe!
kevinyum
8/26/2014 01:20:22 pm
A fish farm is not a bad idea. But why only 2km offshore? Why not 10km off shore? Instead of petitioning for a total ban, perhaps we should focus on getting it moved much further offshore. That way we get the farm, and protect our recreational space.
Clinton Wilson
8/26/2014 03:41:28 pm
Anonymous - Fish farms won't mean less trawlers, I think Kevinyum is right, there were other sites that were proposed, let them use one of those furthest from the view of the city and swimming beaches.
Clinton Wilson
8/26/2014 04:41:27 pm
Dave - maybe that has to be our approach, not to oppose it, but rather to campaign to have it located elsewhere in the bay.A 'protest' at Pipe to bring the our proposal to the media's attention may be a good plan.
Stella
8/26/2014 04:55:40 pm
Fantastic news. A victory for common sense over the ill-informed naysayers and great for the local economy. #winning
Tony
8/26/2014 07:00:47 pm
The idea is excellent - as we all need renewable protein sources, but the location is a bad choice.
Clinton Wilson
8/26/2014 09:45:15 pm
There were other sites across the bay.I still worry that if it is going to attract big predators, they will still follow the main beaches in from Cape Recife on their way to the fish farm.We are told this is what they do anyway, but they may now be in predatory mode because they are sensing food close by, rather than just passing by on the way to the islands.We also need to be thinking of the impact on Blue Water Bay.
Robert
8/27/2014 08:18:48 am
The farm has been approved, that’s the reality. We are going to have ugly dirty industry polluting the waters around our main beaches. Expect more great white activity and illness if you plan on enjoying the waters or take up a new hobby. Sorry to say the debate is over, it’s a done deal. The government has pulled a fast one right in our back yard. The only faint glimmer of hope is the appeal prosses that ends Friday. Its a few forms won’t take too long. We need numbers if it’s going to have any effect, and hardly anyone knows about this. Everyone I have spoken too is clueless including people from the Radisson, colleges and strangers. An avalanche of official appeals on the desk of environmental affairs is the only thing that’s can save PEs marine diversity and identity now. We have to get the forms in.
Clinton Wilson
8/27/2014 05:05:04 pm
Ok, my appeal is sent.I was speaking to someone who works closely with Ironman South Africa , and apparently they did appeal against this development at the site proposed.We need Radio Algoa to start some public debate about this, putting the case forward to have it re-zoned.
Brendan
8/28/2014 05:53:34 pm
I also am mystified by the locality chosen, the area by the existing farm/harbour should be best. The application proposed two options , one in a proposed MPA and this one, so it is not rocket science why this one was chosen!? It would be good to get a perspective from an Environmentalist as the "enviro-speak" is confusing. The following may help....... A point of clarity, the copy of the approval I saw has the date of issue as 13th Aug 2014, appeals must be in within 20 calendar days so if you think you are late, you should be until Monday to appeal. I am not sure whether the volume of appeals will be weighed as much as the area of concern raised. eg. if they think they have dealt with shark issue successfully (during the appeals process) then they will not pursue this further. Apparently, one should look at the EIR's (haven't got a clue what this stands for?) but I assume these detail their responses to areas raised by interested parties. It also sounds like it's also better to get behind an organisation that has already been in the initial appeals process ( these are known as EAP's (again not sure what this stands for) possibly Ironman is one of them as they have been party to the process already?). The reality is that this is a DAFF application to DEA (essentially a Government application!) so any appeal is going to have to be well thought out to succeed. They are already using the fact that this is untried in SA to allow the project to go ahead. Reading between the lines this may be a pilot project for the big one!
Brendan
8/28/2014 06:18:19 pm
For full report see www.cape-eacape.co.za
Hank
8/28/2014 07:09:41 pm
We pump literally millions of litres of human waste into the ocean every day, This will have a negligible effect on the ocean but may increase the supply of a vital food source.
Clinton Wilson
8/28/2014 09:22:00 pm
Check out you tube, there was a 50/50 documentary about the issue of the fish farm in PE and the proposed site. Even has John Scheepers making a appearance.So the issue did get some attention. Unfortunately there are a lot of other people who could have also been contacted, the diving community are heavily effected, tourism board , hotel industry etc. But it was a good documentary.
Andre Clarke
9/4/2014 06:17:52 pm
Pro-Fish farm folks - has there even been the vaguest attempt at researching the impact of this travesty on MASSIVE international events in PE, such as iron Man? Not to mention diving, sailing and yes - surfing? What will be the impact on the fish farm ITSELF with ANOTHER red tide - which will likely kill all the fish? What about swell action destroying the farm - as what happened to the last attempt? Comments are closed.
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