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Marine life is under threat from many sources. Recreational fishers, subsistence fishers, commercial fishers and poachers all harvest the resources. But the marine habitat is also threatened by the impact of dredges on the sea bed, indiscriminate long-lining, pollution by mining, industrial waste, effluent, plastic, oil and building on the shores, agriculture causing siltation of our river systems, invasion of alien species and even climate changes.
Some of these effects can be controlled by conservation measures, others cannot.
The harvesting of resources is an obvious area that conservationists can control either by controlling the tonnage that may be taken, e.g. by estimating the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and setting a bag limit for each species, or by controlling access to areas where the fish may be taken. The TAC for each user group (poachers excluded) and marine species is arrived at through a consultative process involving scientists, the commercial fishing industry, tourism experts, local government, angling groups and every other possible interest group. That is, on paper. In practice, recreational and sportfishers are mostly excluded when decisions affecting their sport is made. For instance: prior to drafting amendments to the act controlling the use of vehicles in coastal zones, no public or user-group consultations were done and the formal comments from user-groups were ignored. In fact, not even an Environmental Impact Assessment was done.
The KwaZulu-Natal Coast Anglers Asso-ciation, for instance, withdrew participation from all MCM bodies as a token of their dissatisfaction with the handling of the 4x4 regulations, as well as the lack of acknowledgement their input received. They felt that when they did participate, they were being used purely as window dressing, so that MCM could implement regulations, regardless of their comments.
The SA Deep Sea Anglers Association (SADSAA), however, believes in the value of negotiation, says chairman John Pledger. They meet with representatives from MCM and commercial bodies in the SA Marine Linefish Management Association (SAMLA), where they negotiate various aspects affecting their sport, like bag limits, launch sites and also introduced their own figures from experts on fish stocks, sometimes showing official statistics to be wrong. But, while all kinds of scientific papers and indicators are considered in all the different processes preceding the Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF) and Allocation Board deciding who may catch what, where and how, there is little input from the recreational angler. When new members of CAF were recently chosen, recreational angling bodies did not receive the opportunity to nominate nor elect one member.
Without knowing what preceded the decisions, the recreational fisherman sees a different picture from the scientist:
He sees press articles that the geelbek numbers are down to 1.5% of the unfished numbers but will he believe it if he last year witnessed the best run of geelbek between the Strand and Gordon Bay ever?
He is told that the allowable catch quota is based on sound scientific research and then he reads about the Americans having to ban bathing on certain beaches because bathers were being bitten by vast numbers of shad after shad fishing was banned;
He'll know that fish movements are influenced by the threat or absence of bigger fish lurking off-shore and that the absence of fish in one area might mean that they've simply moved elsewhere so how do you count them?;
He reads that marine parks are there to protect pristine marine environments and then sees a TV programme on a proposed 1 200 room lodge development in the St. Lucia Wetlands Park;
He knows that as a rock and surf angler he can only dream of actually catching his daily bag limit but that the commercial fishing trawlers net thousands of tonnes;
As a recreational fisherman he must pack up his fishing gear early and be out of the marine park by 6pm, but the guys with commercial seine net licenses may continue throughout the night;
He can only eat abalone if he is prepared to pay more than R100 in a restaurant, yet nearly 20 000 tonnes of abalone may be commercially harvested, mostly for the overseas market;
He must drive an extra 98km inland from St Lucia to reach a fishing spot at Maphelane, but film crews and tour operators are allowed to drive on the beach in their 4x4's at any time of the day or night, including during the turtle breeding season, when the first passing of a vehicle does more damage than the next 20;
He believes the story that the use of 4x4 vehicles were banned on beaches because two yobs became abusive when they nearly ran over ex-minister Valli Moosa walking group, because he is not aware of the pressure from conservationists to have the ban imposed;
Before he knows it, the price of fishing licenses goes up without any explanation, yet the time, place and amount that he is allowed to fish is reduced and he has no choice but to abide or stop fishing.
And it is in the interest of the tackle industry to convince the recreational fisherman not to lay down his rod.
I am profoundly concerned, says Alan Cunningham, manufacturer of Purglas rods. Since the ban on 4x4 vehicles on beaches came into effect, he had to retrench 38% of his workforce as so many anglers decided to take up another sport.His concern is echoed by many in the industry and several people stress the point that unless the recreational angler is convinced to buy into conservation measures, there will be a never-ending battle between conservation officers seen as bullies and anglers angry at what they consider to be unjust interference with their sport or recreation.
By alienating the responsible angler, MCM has, perhaps un-wittingly, driven a huge wedge between both organised and normal recreational angling and themselves. In so doing, they have effectively nullified any hope of voluntary compliance. They have succeeded in accomplishing something they can ill afford, which is a feeling of resentment and rebellion, says Barry Wareham, vice-president of the South African Shore Angling Association (SASAA), immediate past president of the KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Angling Union (KZNCAU) and a Protea Captain. Instead of spending all the income from permits on policing the coastline, education projects involving organisations and fishing clubs will be much more effective, he says.
And make no mistake, there are recreational fisherman that do need policing, observes Protea angler Michael Petersen, angry about the fact that the competitive sportfisherman who will go out of his way to preserve fish so that they can be released undamaged, is governed by the same restrictions as the occassional angler who might not have a clue about the damage he does. The abusers are usually the occassional anglers who do not care if they are kicked out of a club, prevented from competing in future competitions, or anger the people around them who are serious about fishing, he says.
But, the competitive angler who will defy sharks to win a competition or gain provincial colours, is very much concerned about what happens to the resource, he says “If every angler becomes part of some sort of angling body, the governing body will control their actions and use of the sea.
Angling clubs can play a valuable role in educating the recreational angler about, for instance, the value of preserving seed beds in MPAs so that fish stocks can be replenished. They can be taught the value of catch and release and shown how to release without damaging the fish. Anglers can also be asked to provide information about catches, which will help with estimating fish stock numbers.
And what better way of stopping poachers than having groups of responsible anglers present on the beaches acting as conservation marshalls? asks Chris Nolan, SASAA PR. The ban on the 4x4 vehicles emptied the beaches and gave the poachers free reign.As a conservation partner, the recreational angler can therefore play a valuable role. But, then he must believe it will be in his interest to join a club or organisation ... for instance, if he believes that he will have a say in shaping fishing legislation or benefit in other ways.
SADSAA was, for instance, involved with SAMLMA in negotiating the reduction of commercial boat licenses and have also successfully negotiated for more launch sites and vehicle permits for their members. Other angling bodies, however, point out that it is very easy to convince deep sea anglers to become members of SADSAA, because they need to launch their boats at a limited number of sites.But, we kept our launch sites by negotiation, instead of litigation,points out chairman John Pledger.
The occassional angler who wants to spend time on the rocks during his annual holiday does not have the same compelling reason to join a club ... and he might just decide to pack away his rods when fishing becomes just too much of a hassle or expense. It is in the interest of the industry and the economy that he be convinced not to do that.
Participants in the recent F.I.P.S. World Game Fishing Championship (Trolling) hosted by SADSAA, for instance, spent R2 094 per kilogram fish caught ... With 942 kg caught, that was a significant economic contribution.
What the retailer can do[/b]
Display information about bag limits, boundaries of fishing sanctuaries and closed seasons;
Promote membership of fishing clubs and associations;
Organise after-hour talks on conservation issues;
Form a fishing tackle trade body that will put pressure on the government to promote responsible recreational angling;
Actively encourage responsible angling through sponsorships but do not support competitions where large quantities of fish are just indiscriminately killed;
Actively promote development, especially amongst young kids and the previously disadvantaged.
Marine life is under threat from many sources. Recreational fishers, subsistence fishers, commercial fishers and poachers all harvest the resources. But the marine habitat is also threatened by the impact of dredges on the sea bed, indiscriminate long-lining, pollution by mining, industrial waste, effluent, plastic, oil and building on the shores, agriculture causing siltation of our river systems, invasion of alien species and even climate changes.
Some of these effects can be controlled by conservation measures, others cannot.
The harvesting of resources is an obvious area that conservationists can control either by controlling the tonnage that may be taken, e.g. by estimating the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and setting a bag limit for each species, or by controlling access to areas where the fish may be taken. The TAC for each user group (poachers excluded) and marine species is arrived at through a consultative process involving scientists, the commercial fishing industry, tourism experts, local government, angling groups and every other possible interest group. That is, on paper. In practice, recreational and sportfishers are mostly excluded when decisions affecting their sport is made. For instance: prior to drafting amendments to the act controlling the use of vehicles in coastal zones, no public or user-group consultations were done and the formal comments from user-groups were ignored. In fact, not even an Environmental Impact Assessment was done.
The KwaZulu-Natal Coast Anglers Asso-ciation, for instance, withdrew participation from all MCM bodies as a token of their dissatisfaction with the handling of the 4x4 regulations, as well as the lack of acknowledgement their input received. They felt that when they did participate, they were being used purely as window dressing, so that MCM could implement regulations, regardless of their comments.
The SA Deep Sea Anglers Association (SADSAA), however, believes in the value of negotiation, says chairman John Pledger. They meet with representatives from MCM and commercial bodies in the SA Marine Linefish Management Association (SAMLA), where they negotiate various aspects affecting their sport, like bag limits, launch sites and also introduced their own figures from experts on fish stocks, sometimes showing official statistics to be wrong. But, while all kinds of scientific papers and indicators are considered in all the different processes preceding the Consultative Advisory Forum (CAF) and Allocation Board deciding who may catch what, where and how, there is little input from the recreational angler. When new members of CAF were recently chosen, recreational angling bodies did not receive the opportunity to nominate nor elect one member.
Without knowing what preceded the decisions, the recreational fisherman sees a different picture from the scientist:
He sees press articles that the geelbek numbers are down to 1.5% of the unfished numbers but will he believe it if he last year witnessed the best run of geelbek between the Strand and Gordon Bay ever?
He is told that the allowable catch quota is based on sound scientific research and then he reads about the Americans having to ban bathing on certain beaches because bathers were being bitten by vast numbers of shad after shad fishing was banned;
He'll know that fish movements are influenced by the threat or absence of bigger fish lurking off-shore and that the absence of fish in one area might mean that they've simply moved elsewhere so how do you count them?;
He reads that marine parks are there to protect pristine marine environments and then sees a TV programme on a proposed 1 200 room lodge development in the St. Lucia Wetlands Park;
He knows that as a rock and surf angler he can only dream of actually catching his daily bag limit but that the commercial fishing trawlers net thousands of tonnes;
As a recreational fisherman he must pack up his fishing gear early and be out of the marine park by 6pm, but the guys with commercial seine net licenses may continue throughout the night;
He can only eat abalone if he is prepared to pay more than R100 in a restaurant, yet nearly 20 000 tonnes of abalone may be commercially harvested, mostly for the overseas market;
He must drive an extra 98km inland from St Lucia to reach a fishing spot at Maphelane, but film crews and tour operators are allowed to drive on the beach in their 4x4's at any time of the day or night, including during the turtle breeding season, when the first passing of a vehicle does more damage than the next 20;
He believes the story that the use of 4x4 vehicles were banned on beaches because two yobs became abusive when they nearly ran over ex-minister Valli Moosa walking group, because he is not aware of the pressure from conservationists to have the ban imposed;
Before he knows it, the price of fishing licenses goes up without any explanation, yet the time, place and amount that he is allowed to fish is reduced and he has no choice but to abide or stop fishing.
And it is in the interest of the tackle industry to convince the recreational fisherman not to lay down his rod.
I am profoundly concerned, says Alan Cunningham, manufacturer of Purglas rods. Since the ban on 4x4 vehicles on beaches came into effect, he had to retrench 38% of his workforce as so many anglers decided to take up another sport.His concern is echoed by many in the industry and several people stress the point that unless the recreational angler is convinced to buy into conservation measures, there will be a never-ending battle between conservation officers seen as bullies and anglers angry at what they consider to be unjust interference with their sport or recreation.
By alienating the responsible angler, MCM has, perhaps un-wittingly, driven a huge wedge between both organised and normal recreational angling and themselves. In so doing, they have effectively nullified any hope of voluntary compliance. They have succeeded in accomplishing something they can ill afford, which is a feeling of resentment and rebellion, says Barry Wareham, vice-president of the South African Shore Angling Association (SASAA), immediate past president of the KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Angling Union (KZNCAU) and a Protea Captain. Instead of spending all the income from permits on policing the coastline, education projects involving organisations and fishing clubs will be much more effective, he says.
And make no mistake, there are recreational fisherman that do need policing, observes Protea angler Michael Petersen, angry about the fact that the competitive sportfisherman who will go out of his way to preserve fish so that they can be released undamaged, is governed by the same restrictions as the occassional angler who might not have a clue about the damage he does. The abusers are usually the occassional anglers who do not care if they are kicked out of a club, prevented from competing in future competitions, or anger the people around them who are serious about fishing, he says.
But, the competitive angler who will defy sharks to win a competition or gain provincial colours, is very much concerned about what happens to the resource, he says “If every angler becomes part of some sort of angling body, the governing body will control their actions and use of the sea.
Angling clubs can play a valuable role in educating the recreational angler about, for instance, the value of preserving seed beds in MPAs so that fish stocks can be replenished. They can be taught the value of catch and release and shown how to release without damaging the fish. Anglers can also be asked to provide information about catches, which will help with estimating fish stock numbers.
And what better way of stopping poachers than having groups of responsible anglers present on the beaches acting as conservation marshalls? asks Chris Nolan, SASAA PR. The ban on the 4x4 vehicles emptied the beaches and gave the poachers free reign.As a conservation partner, the recreational angler can therefore play a valuable role. But, then he must believe it will be in his interest to join a club or organisation ... for instance, if he believes that he will have a say in shaping fishing legislation or benefit in other ways.
SADSAA was, for instance, involved with SAMLMA in negotiating the reduction of commercial boat licenses and have also successfully negotiated for more launch sites and vehicle permits for their members. Other angling bodies, however, point out that it is very easy to convince deep sea anglers to become members of SADSAA, because they need to launch their boats at a limited number of sites.But, we kept our launch sites by negotiation, instead of litigation,points out chairman John Pledger.
The occassional angler who wants to spend time on the rocks during his annual holiday does not have the same compelling reason to join a club ... and he might just decide to pack away his rods when fishing becomes just too much of a hassle or expense. It is in the interest of the industry and the economy that he be convinced not to do that.
Participants in the recent F.I.P.S. World Game Fishing Championship (Trolling) hosted by SADSAA, for instance, spent R2 094 per kilogram fish caught ... With 942 kg caught, that was a significant economic contribution.
What the retailer can do[/b]
Display information about bag limits, boundaries of fishing sanctuaries and closed seasons;
Promote membership of fishing clubs and associations;
Organise after-hour talks on conservation issues;
Form a fishing tackle trade body that will put pressure on the government to promote responsible recreational angling;
Actively encourage responsible angling through sponsorships but do not support competitions where large quantities of fish are just indiscriminately killed;
Actively promote development, especially amongst young kids and the previously disadvantaged.