Hi All, Whilst setting up my site, I enquired o

[SeanB]

Hi All,

Whilst setting up my site, I enquired of our local DEAT about what their action plan was in checking licenses and enforcing bag limits and sizes.

The response was that they have 7 officers that are mainly concerned with perlie poaching but will check the above if they are in an area.

I know that confiscated perlie is resold and the funds are ploughed back into the department and posed the question that if it is self sustaining or profitable why can't we have addition officers to handle the other side but things went quiet after that.

I see so much plundering of undersize fish by unlicenses individuals that I'm of a strong mind to initiate some kind of action.

Is this the case with other regions?

Thanks

Sean

 

 

[Reefman]

Sean its the same everywhere bud. In Transkei, you'll be lucky to see a Parks Board official... and when you do, they harass the guys with licences and just ignore the locals who plunder anything and everything. While I understand that they gotta eat, I'm just so sick of the double standards that this country is developing as an ethic.

Take a look at St Lucia since the estuary opened... 400 fishermen line the banks of the Estuary from Friday afternoon to Sunday night - EVERY single weekend - and what comes out the water, goes into the cooler, regardless of species, size or whatever. The 2 Parks Board guys sit and watch, because if they intervened, they would probably get lynched...

I said this a few months ago.... there is an environmental catastrophe happening before our very eyes in St Lucia. The entire juvenile stock of Spotted Grunters is being systematically wiped out....! Very, very sad.

 

[SeanB]

It's the same down here and what makes it worse is I've recently been in a situation where I returned a fish, which caused a little grumbling and I left shortly thereafter because of the atmosphere.

I understand that a degree of it is educations but a lot of it is the ethic that you mentioned, where have things gone in the last 10 or so years?!?!

I'm surprised that the number of organisations that exist haven't been able to muscle the DEAT into fulfilling it's remit to enforce this.

My argument is that if they are covering their costs (and probally making extra) through the sale of confiscated perlemoen, where does our license fees go to?

I'm off to stir the pot a little....

 

[Polychaete]

It's a sad sad story down in the Western Cape as well. Ditto to everything written above, except that I had some angry guys want to do damage to me for returning fish to the sea, not just "grumbling"

I am totally disillusioned and have come to terms with the fact that fishing has become a very temporary hobby at best.:help

For some years I have been involved with some of the US based fishing forums, and more fish are released then killed there.  They have turned the conservation corner and CPR (catch Photo Release) is practiced extensively by Sport Anglers and it seem that some fish stocks are improving.   Anglers participate in a variety of conservation activities, like breeding and re stocking of Geelbek to mention one.:third

It is an impossibility in this country and will only change once there is nearly nothing left to catch or people become a bit wealthier or less crooked.

Sorry for the rant but it makes me very depressed to see the way the rules are flaunted (and by many who know better) and the sea gets raped day after day.

 

[Ajay]

Enforcement seems to be on the increase down here in the Cape. That might not be saying much given the sporadic nature of checkups in the past. Case in point .....a slip up of note on my part... My chokka licence had expired and was out of sync with all my other current  licences. I got nailed in Buffels bay with my chokka confiscated and a fine to boot. 2 Navy Namacurras riding around checking for anything wrong.Kreef out of season, perlies , undersize fish exceeded bag limitsetc .Guys were very cool about it . I think they could see it was a genuine oversight on my part that it had expired.I was in the wrong and was apologetic.I wasnt about to give them the bags of attitude that I have seen them get at the slip sometimes from commercials.Sometimes I think they are working in an environment of fear and personally I think its a much better idea to board some guy out at sea with the Navy crews in support. They chased after 2 boats who tried to make slide off un-noticed.Dont know if they dumped what was illegal or not .The shore based guys who check for crayfish are another story altogether. These guys are in fear of their lives pretty much like otyher areas by the sounds of things.Only other comment about Transkei is that I am pretty sure that in certain areas like Dwesa for example , pretty much all the locals have been issued subsistence licences. In some cases it might explain the very selective checking of tourists licences if the officials know all the locals?! Trying to be positive!!!!??

 

[Loams]

Ajay, I think you are nailing it spot on.

These guys live in the community which they are policing. In most of these places a gangster attitude prevails, and if you persecute me, I'll take out your family!!

 

[SeanB]

Ya, Polychaete I think it is the difference between a 3rd world & 1st world. 1st world tend to have more in the way of resources and time to allocate to conservation and 3rd world tend to view this area as a secondary initiative. I too am sick of the rape.

Good news on the increased action down your way, Ajay. I do recall that we used to get targeted (boat angling years back in CT) because the officials had an easy area to police i.e. slips.

Saying all I have, I was pleasantly surprise to see 2 official make a presence on the beach yesterday although they didn't leave their vehicle (made a run up the beach of about 1km and then left) and they were looking at anglers invloved in a competition, not the general profile of the pilages I've mentioned. I might add I don't know where they went next so I suppose their presence was worth something.

 

[LouLea]

Hi guys, I heard that on Thursday, Womans Day, there were some boats fishing in the MPA of Goukamma near Buffalo Bay. Our local fishing club Enviro Officer radioed one or two boats which promptly left the reserve, However, one boat remained. After a short while one of the guys that had left the reserve motored over to him and they both left the reserve. I don't know if the "fetcher" was peeved that he couldn't catch in the reserve or if he was concerned for the protection of the area, but wit todays cost of petrol it was really good to hear of his action. Thanks to whoever he was and to any other people out there that do community policing. It makes our reserves work.