Veldriff: One of the West Coast’s most in demand fishing export harbors

The West Coast is very well-known for its fishing industry and one town that springs to mind in particular is Veldrif.

The town is known as the “bokkom capital” of the world. A bokkom, for those who are unfamiliar with it, is a salted and dried harder fish. You can find “bokkoms” in local shops, people’s homes and even sold next to roads.

After a very cold and windy winter, the infamous Bokkomlaan road in Veldriff is selling again and business has been picking up steam with thousands of orders placed already.

Amos Jantjoies of Ubuntu Visserye said that the target is to produce a substantial amount of bokkoms per week.

“We hope for about 1,000 bossies a week.”

The small silverfish gets damped in salt water, before getting hung out for the rest of the day. The next day it gets dried out in the fish house.

Once upon a time, Veldriff had 22 fish houses but it has only had 4 now, signally a significant decline and indicating that the bokkom industry could potentially be under threat. 

Veldriff residents and couple Valencia and Jowinel Dampies are keeping the industry alive as they are shipping hundreds of bokkoms to towns such as Porterville, Paarl, Gouda, Wellington and Tulbagh.

Mrs. Dampies took over her family’s business about 2 years ago and does her job with gratitude and love.

“It’s very hard work, but you enjoy it. If you do it with love, then why not?”

The Dampies’ have a team of six people who work with them and make sure they get their deliveries out every Sunday. 

Mrs. Dampies also stated that sometimes fishermen come home empty-handed. They also go out late at night and only return in the early hours of the morning.

The Bokkom industry and global fishing process company Oceana factory have provided multiple job opportunities for local residents.

The Dampies’ along with other fish houses are eagerly awaiting the summer as business starts booming during the festivities. 

Through the togetherness and help of the community, Veldriff can blossom into one of the biggest fishing industry towns in Africa and provide youngsters with more job opportunities to contribute to society and the economy.