CS-03 / Moya
Snoek and linefish
Shifted to pre-sold restaurant lots on high-quality days, reducing unsold afternoon volume and shortening cold-room dwell.
Small-boat fisheries · shared cold room · direct sales · fictional cooperative
The harbour belongs to the people who work it.
Cape Sound pools ice, cold storage, transport and market access so independent crews can land better fish without surrendering all the margin between boat and plate.
See today's board06:40 · Yellowtail · 184 kg · Boat CS-0707:15 · Hake · 96 kg · Boat CS-1208:05 · Snoek · 240 kg · Boat CS-03Trace code issued at scale06:40 · Yellowtail · 184 kg · Boat CS-0707:15 · Hake · 96 kg · Boat CS-1208:05 · Snoek · 240 kg · Boat CS-03Trace code issued at scale
About / cooperative charter
Shared infrastructure. Independent boats.
Members keep ownership of their vessels and catch. The cooperative owns the shared assets that are hardest for one small operator to carry alone: flake ice, insulated handling, a monitored cold room, market coordination and buyer administration.
Landing records are visible to members, deductions are declared before settlement and the cooperative's annual surplus follows a member-approved formula rather than disappearing into an opaque trading margin.
Offerings / landing board
What the co-op handles ashore.
| Service | Starts at | What is recorded | Member value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing & weigh-in | Quayside scale | Vessel, time, species, mass, grade, temperature | One declared weight before the catch changes hands |
| Cold handling | First crate | Ice ratio, holding temperature, lot code, movement | Condition protected between deck and buyer |
| Market desk | After grading | Buyer offer, deductions, transport, settlement | Comparable offers rather than one opaque price |
| Direct supply | Confirmed order | Lot allocation, pack size, dispatch, receipt | Restaurants and shops buy known catch from known crews |
Process / from deck to buyer
01
Land
Crew reports species and estimated lot before tying up.
02
Weigh
Catch is weighed, graded and assigned a trace code.
03
Chill
Crates move immediately into ice or monitored cold holding.
04
Offer
Market desk compares committed buyers and live demand.
05
Settle
Buyer receipt closes the lot and member settlement is issued.
Projects / boats & routes
Three crews changed what happened after the scale.
CS-07 / Nandi
Yellowtail and seasonal pelagics
Introduced on-deck insulated bins and landing temperature checks; buyer rejections fell across the season.
CS-12 / Thandiwe
Hake and mixed linefish
Combined smaller daily landings into traceable cooperative lots while preserving vessel identity on every buyer invoice.
17
member vessels
94%
lots trace-coded at first weigh
2.8 h
median landing-to-dispatch
61%
member vote participation
People / member council
The board smells like diesel and salt.
Working members hold the majority of elected seats; shore staff run systems but do not outvote the boats.
Skipper · CS-07
Nomsa Gqirana
Council chair · safety and landing practice
Skipper · CS-03
Pieter Louw
Gear standards · buyer liaison
Shore manager
Amina Davids
Cold room · settlements · compliance
Insights / season notes
Quality is a clock
The first half-hour ashore is often more valuable than a later argument about price. Ice, shade and quick weighing protect options.
Traceability should survive aggregation
A cooperative lot can combine volume for a buyer without erasing which vessel landed which crate.
A closed season is part of the business model
Responsible planning includes weeks when a target species should not be pursued. Revenue resilience comes from diversity, not denial.
FAQ / objections on the quay
Do members have to sell every catch through the co-op?
No. Members approve minimum participation rules annually, but boat owners retain defined direct-sale rights.
Is all catch certified sustainable?
No blanket claim is made. Species, method, area and season are recorded, and restricted or non-compliant catch is not accepted into cooperative lots.
Can restaurants reserve fish before landing?
They can register demand and preferred species, but final allocation happens only after actual landing, grade and legal size are confirmed.
How are deductions decided?
Ice, handling, transport and market fees are published to members before the season and shown line-by-line on each settlement.
Contact / two doors
Buy the catch. Or join the boats.
Fictional cooperative · South African coastal context