The case pits the South African Squid Management Industrial Association (Sasmia), which represents the established commercial squid industry, against the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Government’s transformation project scrutinisedAt the heart of the “squid game” is a simple question: did government follow the law when it opened a portion of the valuable squid resource to small-scale fishers? Government’s transformation project dates back to November 2019, when squid was included among species available to small-scale fishing co-operatives. Sasmia challenged the process, arguing that government had effectively divided the squid before properly determining how much fishing activity the resource could sustain. That means future fishing decisions could continue to be built upon the contested 15% foundation.