Masifundise Development Trust

18/08/2026

🌊 From 12–15 August 2026, Masifundise and Coastal Links joined the Our Ocean School in Sri Lanka, alongside participants from across the globe!

The school explored the principles of Agroecology and how they apply within fisheries, delving into the emerging term of Aquaecology. Discussions covered marine political ecology and decolonising systems, paired with field trips to different coastal areas.

Our Masifundise and Coastal Links team visited Negombo, observing the similarities and differences between fishing communities there and back home — deepening our shared understanding of small-scale fisheries and ocean stewardship worldwide. 🐟🌍

14/08/2026

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On 14 August 2026, the South African Constitutional Court passed judgment on the landmark case Wild Coast Communities vs Shell that affirms communities that consultation is not just a process but an expression of human rights. This judgment comes after an unsatisfactory outcome in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). While the SCA confirmed that the permit Shell sought to use for offshore oil and gas exploration off the Wild Coast was unlawfully granted, it left the door open for the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy to renew that permit.

🔗 Read our full statement here https://www.masifundise.org/shell-loses-wild-coast-battle-as-constitutional-court-rules-in-favour-of-communities/

14/08/2026

Victoryyyy for rural communities! 👏

Communities have a and today, they’ve been heard!

The Constitutional Court has ruled against Shell’s offshore exploration plans. 🚫

Full media statement to follow. 👩🏽‍💻

14/08/2026

This Women’s Month, we celebrate women across South Africa and around the world. 🌊🌎

In this video, joins the World Forum of Fisher Peoples - WFFP Our Ocean School in Sri Lanka, sharing a song rooted in the long history of women’s resistance and struggle. 🇿🇦💜🇱🇰

Amandla to fisherwomen! 💪

14/08/2026

13/08/2026

Tomorrow, the Constitutional Court delivers its judgment in the case. 🌊✊

For Wild Coast communities, this case isn’t just about oil and gas. It is about revealing who gets to decide what happens in our lands and waters: communities or corporations?

The communities have been clear: they have the right to say NO to extractivism. ⛔️

Tomorrow, we await the Court’s decision.

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09/08/2026

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South Africa's Women's Month 2026 marks 70 years since the historic 1956 Women's March! ✊

Seven decades ago, thousands of women stood together against injustice and refused to be silenced. This year's theme, "Empowered Women Empower The Nation," speaks directly to our fisherwomen communities.

For fisherwomen, spaces that are for women mean more than just a gathering. They provide a platform for sharing information and building solidarity. Earlier this year, Masifundise and Coastal Links women hosted a fisherwomen's exchange, bringing women from different fishing communities together to share knowledge and struggles. It became more than an exchange of information, it was an exchange of strength. Women left feeling empowered and reminded that they are not alone.

We spoke to the women who took part, and their message was clear: these spaces turn isolation into solidarity, silence into shared voice, and personal struggle into collective power.

As we mark 70 years of women's resistance, we honour the fisherwomen carrying that legacy forward, claiming their place in the fishing sector and empowering each other, so that together, they empower the nation.

South Africa's Women's Month 2026 marks 70 years since the historic...

01/08/2026

🦞Today, on Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day, we’re reflecting on moments shared with fishing communities across South Africa’s coastline.

Marine Protected Areas play an important role in conserving marine biodiversity, but lasting conservation is only possible when small-scale fishers are recognised as rights holders and meaningful participants in decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods.

As we mark , we reaffirm our commitment to ocean governance that protects both marine ecosystems and the communities who have cared for them for generations. 🪸🪼🐠

31/07/2026

🗓️This week, the Masifundise team came together for our Mid-Year Review to reflect on the work of the past six months, welcome new staff that will contribute in strengthening our work in support of communities and plan for the months ahead.

The team dived in report-backs, had a trend analysis of global developments and scrutinised how these developments impact our work on the ground. 🔍

We are committed to strengthening our capacity to better support SSF communities as they build and strengthen their collective power. 📈

Here’s to a purposeful second half of the year. 🎊

31/07/2026

Community members from Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape recently held a peaceful demonstration to raise concerns about the exclusion of small-scale fishers from the Ocean Economy Master Plan (OEMP) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) processes.

Through the demonstration, fisherpeople called for meaningful participation in decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods, rejected the current draft of the OEMP, and called for people-centred processes that recognise and protect the rights of small-scale fishing communities.

Masifundise supports the right of communities to participate meaningfully in decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods. Sustainable ocean governance can only be achieved when the voices of fisherpeople are genuinely heard and acted upon.