A group of Asian men and women were caught with buckets of mussels, clams and sea snails allegedly illegally harvested from the Sheffield Beach area on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast on Sunday.
They denied possession and left the beach while members of the Dolphin Coast Anti-Poaching Forum (DCAPF) safely returned the marine life to the ocean.
The forum, a public/public collaboration between law enforcement, ratepayers and anti-poaching organisations, said it received a report about the group harvesting marine life in the Sheffield Beach area, below Villa Royale.
“One of our security partners, IPSS Electronic Security, responded to the complaint. Three individuals were found on the shoreline with buckets of mussels, clams and sea snails. They denied ownership of the items and left the area. All recovered marine life was safely returned to the ocean,” it said.
Details of the incident, including vehicle registration numbers, were noted by the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment (DFFE) and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and distributed to local partner security firms.
“We hope this sends a strong message to these poachers and any others wanting to poach on the Dolphin Coast. We are watching and we will make it as difficult as possible for you to carry out your illegal activities,” said DCAPF.
The forum thanked an alert resident who reported the incident.
“Your swift, detailed report assisted in successfully thwarting the poaching attempt. We appeal to community members to be our eyes and ears out there. We can only do this with your help. Help us protect your environment.”
The DCAPF is expected to launch a public reporting hotline this week.
More crayfish, shad poachers bust
Meanwhile, the Coastal Marine Task Force (CMTF) and DFFE acted on tip-offs and complaints regarding crayfish and shad poaching on Friday.
“CMTF and DFFE officials arrived onsite at 6am at Banana Beach near South Port. On arrival the team interacted with fishermen. One fisherman ran away, another fisherman was found using a live shad as bait and a dead shad was found in his cooler box. One fisherman landed a Yellow Tail Amberjack illegally using a live shad as bait. Also in his possession were two shad under his cooler box which he was sitting on,” said CMTF chair Jay Naidoo.
The fishermen were charged for being in possession of shad in the closed season and were issued fines at Southport police station. All shad were confiscated.
“The team then acted on crayfish poaching along the N2. On arrival they were approached by a crayfish seller. Once confronted by CMTF, the crayfish sellers discarded the crayfish and sprinted away. The crayfish were released alive back into the ocean,” said Naidoo.
The team continued to conduct surveillance along the R102 in Hibberdene. “They noticed a suspicious car parked near the beach. While investigating a spear fisherman arrived at the car with a bag of 29 crayfish, two of which were undersize and three carrying eggs. The diver was aware crayfish season was closed and did not show remorse.
“The suspect’s spearfishing gear and car were confiscated and impounded. The suspect was arrested and charged at Hibberdene police station. All crayfish were booked into the police register and were taken to a remote beach where they were safely released.
“This is a reminder to the public that the East Coast rock lobster season runs from March 1 to October 31, with a closed season from November 1 to the end of February to protect breeding lobsters. During the open season the bag limit is eight per day.”
He said there had been negative comments and racism accusations on social media after the arrest of crayfish poachers. “The public needs to be reminded CMTF does not target specific races or individuals. Poachers are breaking the law and will be held accountable, regardless of race.
“We continue to monitor and prosecute illegal crayfish sellers along the N2, but we obviously cannot be everywhere every day so we rely on the public to report poaching incidents.
“Members of the public are requested and reminded that vulgar, threatening or defamatory comments towards any member of CMTF or DFFE officials on Facebook or in public will be dealt with by the full extent of the law. Fake Facebook profiles can be traced.”
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