Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson is taking the public protector to court to challenge her report on the tender to manage the state's fishery vessels, the minister said on Sunday.

"I will be asking the North Gauteng High Court to declare that the report including the findings and recommendations, are reviewed, corrected and, or, set aside," Joemat-Pettersson told a media briefing in Cape Town.

Papers were served on Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on Friday, according to Kanthi Nagiah, the head of legal services in the department.

Joemat-Pettersson said she was launching the legal challenge because Madonsela refused to reconsider her findings that the minister was guilty of improper conduct and maladministration in regard to the tender.

Madonsela had responded that her findings were final, the minister said.

"I am thus following the advice of the Public Protector by taking the report on legal review."

In her report, titled "Docked Vessels" and released on December 4, Madonsela recommended that President Jacob Zuma consider disciplinary action against the minister for "reckless dealing with state money and services, resulting in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, loss of confidence in the fisheries industry in South Africa, alleged decimation of fisheries resources in South Africa and delayed quota allocations due to lack of appropriate research."

Madonsela said the director general in the Presidency should chart a course for taking action against Joemat-Pettersson within 30 days.

Her probe followed a complaint from the Democratic Alliance. The party asked the protector to probe the awarding of an R800 million contract to the Sekunjalo consortium to manage the department's fleet of research and patrol ships.

The contract was withdrawn and the management of the vessels handed over to the navy.

Joemat-Pettersson declined to say whether the president had raised the matter with her.