Pray the News
Eye­thu Fish­ing forced into restruc­tur­ing, 200 jobs on line
 Com­pany’s lease at Gqe­berha’s har­bour end­ing and fish pro­cessing oper­a­tions not sus­tain­able, CEO says
The Herald - Monday 9 February

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Article

Eye­thu Fish­ing at Gqe­berha’s har­bour has announced plans to restruc­ture, pla­cing more than 200 jobs at risk. The news was announced to staff on Feb­ru­ary 3. In a let­ter to employ­ees, chief exec­ut­ive Eric Smuts said the com­pany needed to share dif­fi­cult news. “Eye­thu Fish­ing will begin a formal con­sulta­tion pro­cess about changes to our busi­ness. “These changes are neces­sary because our lease at the Gqe­berha har­bour is end­ing, and our fish pro­cessing oper­a­tions have not been sus­tain­able for some time.”

He said Eye­thu had ren­ted its fact­ory build­ing from the Trans­net National Ports Author­ity (TNPA) for many years. The build­ing was built in 1989. “With the lease expir­ing on ‘We sub­mit­ted a bid last year to stay on the site, but our pro­posal was not accep­ted as it did not meet TNPA’s require­ments’ March 31 2026, and the build­ing reach­ing the end of its use­ful life, TNPA has advised that it wants to redevelop the prop­erty. “We sub­mit­ted a bid last year to stay on the site, but our pro­posal was not accep­ted as it did not meet TNPA’s require­ments.” Smuts said Eye­thu had pre­vi­ously com­mis­sioned engin­eers to assess whether the com­pany could repair the exist­ing build­ing or con­struct a new facil­ity. “At the same time, we tried many ways to improve our busi­ness — apply­ing for more fish­ing quotas, pro­cessing catches from other com­pan­ies, devel­op­ing new products and repro­cessing impor­ted fish. “These efforts helped a little, but not enough to make the busi­ness sus­tain­able,” he said.
 

“After look­ing at every option, we have had to make the pain­ful decision to restruc­ture. “This may mean clos­ing our fish pro­cessing fact­ory, affect­ing about 210 of our col­leagues.” Smuts said Eye­thu’s man­age­ment was aware this news would cause worry and uncer­tainty, and all staff would be treated fairly and with respect. “The pro­cess will include a formal and fair con­sulta­tion with all employ­ees who may be affected, access to coun­selling and well­being ser­vices, and fair sev­er­ance pack­ages if jobs can­not be saved, in line with com­pany policy and South African labour law. “This decision was not taken lightly.” Smuts said on Sat­urday there was no plan to move the fish­ing pro­cessing aspect of the busi­ness. “That oper­a­tion isn’t prof­it­able. To move it makes no sense. It will cost a lot of money to move. “To set up a fact­ory is a lot of money. We have looked at that option, but it wouldn’t work. “The fish­ing will con­tinue, but the pro­cessing will cease. The rest of the busi­ness will keep run­ning. “When the ves­sels come in, they will sell to oth­ers who will pro­cess it.” Trans­net said on Fri­day morn­ing it was pre­par­ing a state­ment. However, it was not sent by the time of pub­lic­a­tion.

More Background
Eyethu Fishing is undergoing restructuring primarily because its lease with the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is set to expire on March 31, 2026. The processing factory, built in 1989, has reached the end of its useful life, and TNPA plans to redevelop the site. A bid to either stay or renew the lease was rejected last year for not meeting the requirements. Despite efforts to secure more quotas, engage in third-party processing, develop new products, and reprocess imported fish, the fish processing operations remain unprofitable and unsustainable. This situation has initiated a formal consultation process under South African labor law, which may result in the closure of the processing factory, putting approximately 210 jobs—mainly in processing—at risk. Fishing operations will continue, with catches sold to other processors. Relocating the facility was considered but ultimately deemed unfeasible due to high costs and ongoing losses. Affected employees will be treated fairly, with full consultation, counseling support, and severance packages provided if jobs are lost, in accordance with company policy and labor laws.

People to Pray for
Eric Smuts - Chief Executive Eyethu Fishing