Update to Oceana Meeting 15th August 2014

The first ‘community forum’ meeting was held between Oceana and the Hout Bay Residents and Ratepayers Association (HBRRA) / Fresh Air Hout Bay (FAHB) on 15 August 2015, at the Oceana offices in Cape Town. In attendance were three FAHB representatives and various senior representatives from Oceana, including Mr Kuttell (CEO), Mr Harrison (MD Lucky Star), lawyers from the Environmental Law Practice and workers from another Oceana plant. Mr Kuttel led the discussion, with the primary objective of establishing a relationship between Oceana and the community to address concerns about the pungent smell from the fish factory.

Overview
Oceana claims that the pungent odour from the fish factory is a natural outcome of their industry, and they are well within their rights to produce in the area. They confirm that all production is ‘normal’ and they are operating within their Atmospheric Emissions License, provided by the City of Cape Town (CoCT). CoCT have confirmed this information through correspondence (not in attendance at the meeting).

Oceana recognised that some people in Hout Bay consider the smell to be unpleasant, however claim that the plant is the most advanced in the country, equipped with the best technology internationally. The plant makes use of various scrubbing technologies to reduce odour as much as possible and they are not aware of any technology that will eliminate the smell. As a result, they do not see any immediate action they can take to resolve the problem. They are running a pilot at their West Coast Plant involving a new chemical scrubbing agent. Should this prove successful they may implement this at the Hout Bay plant.

Oceana said they would be open to exploring new technologies, and are part of the international fishmeal organisation that globally exchanges views and discusses new technologies, but to date have not found anything that improves on their current operations. Evidence of this was not supplied, as it was said to be very technical and not understandable to most people.

The majority of questions submitted by the HBRRA were not answered specifically. We were initially informed that the meeting would include a series of presentations that would provide this information, but these were not given. Oceana expressed they would prefer to have these discussions with technical community representatives (selected engineers or professionals) so they would be more readily able to ‘understand’ and communicate with the broader community. They are happy to work with these representatives further to discuss current practices at the plant.

Oceana emphasised their economic contribution to the area; 102 employees are directly employed by the plant, with an additional 124 sea-going employees. 58% of these employees are from Hangberg, and a further 25% are from Hangberg but have been relocated to Mitchells Plain.

Oceana also explained that moving the plant would have significant financial implications, between R50-100 million, and would mean job loss for the area. They also indicated that they would struggle to find a new location because other communities would have concerns about the smell, and because they had been operating in Hout Bay since 1958, the smell was more acceptable here.

Specific information about the number of complaints raised in 2013 was not provided as it was believed this information would do nothing other than aggravate the situation. When FAHB commented that the information would help to build understanding of the issue, this was not agreed with, and FAHB is directed to the CoCT to receive this information.

It appeared that there was a stalemate in how to move forward. Oceana claims there is nothing further that can be done to alleviate the smell and gave little indication of further proactive steps that can be taken. When specifically asked if they thought the smell was acceptable, Mr Kuttell indicated yes.

FAHB is currently evaluating opportunities of engagement for the broader community in response to this meeting, and these will be shared during the course of the week. Please check this page and at our Facebook page for further details