I have just spent the long weekend at my beach cot

[Kingfish77]

Good one to TKEI. We need more people out there like you.

As a member to this site for some time, I would love to see the name and shame rule enforced on this site. There are way to many idiots out there doing the wrong thing and when there names are going to be made public then, no we cant shame them. Shame on them for doing the wrong thing in the first place.
I say "Post their names TKEI." I support you 100%

IM me if you want me to get involved with anything to try and prevent this type of thing.

 

[Conservnsea]

There's only one way to fix the Mdumbi problem and that's to get the launchsite registered to Tshani Skiboat Club.  Spend every spare moment getting this done and don't take "no" or "maybe" as an answer from the authorities concerned.

 

[Adrian B]

Guys, bickering amongst ourselves who are mostly in agreement that this carnage is not acceptable and isn’t going to achieve anything. With a clear plan of action and a few motivated individuals this can be put to an end.

 

I would suggest the following action:

 

·         Name and shame the boats involved publically- via ski boat magazine and any fishing related website (provided we have undeniable proof)

·         Assist and co-operate with the local authorities to bring these guys to book- John Rance is a good starting point

·         Found out where these fish are being sold, publically name and shame the retailers and customers supporting the  sale of these fish

 

With the help of one or two individuals I recently tackled Pick n Pay about their sale of Mozambique line fish, within a few months we had pressurised them to the point that they have agreed not to sell any Moz line fish in their stores. All it took was a concerted effort by a few people.

 

I’m based in JHB and will happily volunteer my time to investigate any retailer based in Gauteng that may be involved in selling Coppers. Most red listed fish invariable end up here as the public generally doesn’t know what they are.

 

So if you guys have any leads let me know.

 

[tkei]

Adrian B,
100%. If you see my post yesterday, a commercial was caught with out of season coppers and 74's. I think you may be correct on the fish being sent up to jhb etc as people there dont know whats what and i doubt there are too many MCM inspectors there either.

 

[Adrian B]

Cool. Let me know if you pick up any leads as to where they being sold. I make it my mission to visit at least one retailer including restaurants a week to see what’s on offer and I take “aggressive action” where ever appropriate. Their has been a lot in the media lately about our fish stocks, sustainability, green and orange choices etc. A few people can easily apply a lot of pressure on a retailer.

 

Will let you if I find anything that even smells like a Copper.

 

[ANTON BARNARD]

People like this breaks my heart ,Name and shame them mate ,those buggers close the doors for all of us and the futhure fisherman

 

[Adrian B]

Guys, talk is cheap. Tangible action is what drives change. You all take the time to whine on the sealine blog but won’t take the time to go on line and sign our on line petition or tackle a retailer that is selling fish that are over exploited etc. (Google endangered fish petition, Pick n Pay has since buckled and pulled the Moz line fish) Some Sealine members went as far as to claim our petition was spam and bogus, so much for support from like minded anglers.

Walk the talk and take action.What have you done other than talk kak on the blog?

 

[Conservnsea]

Good one Adrian B, we need more people like you.  If you come across coppers out of season or '74's in Jhburg or anywhere, don't alert the distributor 'cause they'll hide them.  Pretend to be interested and ask a few innocent questions like "where do these lovely fish come from" and even buy one as evidence, keeping details of the transaction.

We don't need MCM inspectors in Jhburg.  SAPS Organized Crime are fine, s'long as they're briefed by someone in the know.  If you come across anything, contact 083 457 8385 and ask that fellow for assistance.  He'll be able to get someone in Jo'burg to investigate.  Failing that, contact John Rance via his P.A. on 043 683 5202 working hours or 082 659 8138 after hours - but best to sms as his cellphone's normally on silent.

You guys in Durbs - the T'kei coppers and '74's are mostly ending up in that market, or are flown out of Durbs en route to restaurants in places like Lisbon, Portugal.  Anyone who has contacts in airfreight and forwarding, ask them to keep a lookout and check the fish shops in Durban.  Someone found and reported a copper steenbras in a fish shop in Umhlanga last year out-of-season.

Every time you eat out in a restaurant, when studying the menu, ask to see the fish ostensibly so you can check it's fresh and to choose which type you'd like.  Tell them you don't know the species well and would like to see them before eating them.  That way you'll pick up undersize fish and prohibited species like '74.  In Jo'burg, once, they tried to feed me red steenbras when in fact the fish was a soldier.

We must realize we've gotta make more running if we want to make a difference. Whingeing and publicizing is OK for a start, but you can only whinge so much and it gets boring, like yelling "snake" too many times..!  Action counts.  Do it..

 

[Adrian B]

I don't want to hijack Tkei's thread since the Copper issue is an important one so I started another one to add onto what "conservnsea" had to say. Some pointers on tackling retailers that may be of use to retail virgins.

See tackling retailers.

 

[Bycatch]

tkei - Must assume you haven't been sued yet or tortured with bananas!
Big on you to apologise where required. Bear in mind that a picture speaks a thousand words and I think a few klaps is worth it to expose the envirophiles amongst us!!

 

[BTTB]

The problem is everywhere.
I was watching some boats inside Cape Point the other day catching small Red Roman. None went back. It is good to know there is a new generation of this species around. They just need to be left alone.
On the bright side one angler catching from the rocks foul hooked a Galjoen and released it as it is out of season.

One inspector the other day was more concerned about boats laying their crayfish nets before 08h00 in the morning.

 

[Bycatch]

.......and now what do we have! Lot's of talk that Coppers will be banned this year - just waiting for the Minister to sign it off and they are gone.

In the meantime Coppers will get a hiding next to nothing, the dent from this action alone may take many years to recover just on it's own. We can thank the greedy pigs for this! Damn short sighted fishermen and poor legislation has led to their demise.

 

[tkei]

Bycatch,

Ja, as most have seen we just waiting for coppers to be banned (to the detriment of black steenbras I am afraid). Many guys have already said they are going to go and "smack the hell out of coppers until they are banned". Unfortunately this shows the mentality of many of the so called anglers in this country.

 

I will se sad to see them banned as they are such a great sport fish, but too many had too much fun catching them for their own selfish reasons, be it greed, ignorance, I dont care attitude etc.

Unfortunately the fat lady is warming up the vocal cords and is about to sing, and the guys who helped cause this will cry foul as they have now been unfairly treated.

We are however all to blame. Those who didnt take part in the slaughter didnt say anything (or enough) to stop the guys from carrying on.

 

[Bycatch]

tkei - you are quite correct. It's a pity that we didn't name & shame all the envirophiles when we had the chance. They know who they are and they should hang their heads in shame! They contributed immensly to robbing their kids of a chance to catch a Copper.

On the other hand, legislators have allowed the slaughter of breeding coppers for over 20 yrs and they need to accept part blame for doing too little too late.

 

[Echo7]

Will the ban come in time to actually save this species?

 

[Conservnsea]

Sent to SADSAA Environmental Officer.

Please bring this to the attention of the recreational fishing forum you will be attending.

It has been brought to my attention that a proposal exists to place a moratorium (ban) on the catching of red steenbras and that legislation in this regard is imminent.  Presumably this is based on the assumption as outlined in the following extract from an article by Bruce Mann:

Quote:  In November 2009 I was asked by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) to join a team of international experts to assess the status of sparid species from around the world as part of its Global Marine Species Assessment Programme. My job was to provide detailed assessments of the 42 sparid species found in South African waters. This was an enormous task which involved piecing together every shred of information on each species. The results of these assessments are still under review and should be published on the IUCN Red List website later this year (see http://www.iucnredlist.org). 

With regard to red steenbras, one crucial piece of information was the trend in catch per unit effort (CPUE) over time which scientists use as an indicator of a fish’s relative abundance. Here I turned to scientists at DAFF (previously MCM) to run the analyses with the available data. The results were staggering. To put it simply, commercial catch rates for red steenbras along the entire South African coast have declined by 99% over the past 25 years!  This fact, together with other studies that have shown similar drastic declines (see Smale and Punt 1991, Penney et al. 1999 & Griffiths 2000), strongly suggest that the stock of red steenbras is indeed in a very precarious position. 

According to the Linefish Management Protocol (LMP) developed with much stakeholder engagement during the late 1990s (see Griffiths et al. 1999), if the population of a species declines in abundance by more than 90% of its theoretical pristine level, drastic management action is required and closure of the fishery for that species should be considered. In essence this is what happened in the case of the seventy-four Polysteganus undulosus which led to the moratorium being declared on that species in 1998. The future management of red steenbras is thus critical and some tough decisions are going to have to be taken if we are going to ensure the survival of this remarkable flagship species. Unquote.

The above statistics are not a reflection of the true situation.  Red Steenbras in the Border/Transkei region are prolific.

The decline in recorded CPUE coincides with a large reduction in linefish commercial licences which targeted those fish and a reduction in the catch limits to one per person per day.  Thus it was no longer commercially viable to legally target that species.  Fish were then caught illegally and trading went underground.

Further reasons why the "official" statistics cannot be relied upon are as follows:

   *  Commercial line fishermen complete the returns themselves, hence no independence.

   *  Commercial line fishermen have to pay catch levies, so why should they declare their   catch 100% - at the risk of losing their licence … we know that will not happen..!?

   *  There is no compliance officer at all the launch sites, and unlike true commercials where catches are declared at the harbour, like in Hout Bay, the line fish commercials do not have to report to the weigh office.

   *  It is reported that the department has admitted that records of line fishermen are not accurate

   *  DAFF (MCM) has received audit reports where their revenue on catch levies cannot be substantiated.

   *  Why would commercial line fishermen report their catches accurately?

Hence the reliance on the DAFF report cannot be used to substantiate claims that the species is under threat.  Catches may have declined “officially” because of available catch return statistics, but that's because it's no longer a species able to be legally targeted in abundance because of catch limits placed on it.  Unofficially they are still being caught and traded illegally.  Records are not being kept because to do so will attract attention to the fact they're being caught over-quota.

It also doesn’t necessarily follow that because populations of a species may be depleted or collapsed in certain over-exploited regions the species is under threat.

My experience and the experience of anglers in the Border/Transkei area is that red steenbras are in more abundance now than they were in the early 1980's when I started deepsea fishing.  They are re-populating reefs in the Border area where they'd been cleaned out by commercial activity in the '80's and early '90's and are moving ever shallower.

I'm advised that the same situation exists further down the coast.  But as the shelf moves further out to sea, given the catch limits it's not worth travelling that far on the off-chance the current will allow them to be caught.

Other reliable experiences reported are as follows:  Over the last six years there has been an increase in the number of red steenbras caught in the Western Province league.  Only one per annum was reported in the leagues for the entire year about 5 years ago, now almost every league day there are reports of 55cm+ size red steenbras being caught and released. On one occasion three were landed and released, all in shallow water of 15 metres.  Other confidential reports have been given of fish caught in areas where they had not been caught for many years.  This information is kept confidential to prevent the species from being targeted by illegal and legal commercial effort.

The illegal haul by a vessel a few years ago in Southern Cape is a case in point. That was a rare case of being caught and lends even more credence to discredit the official statistics of such a massive decline in population.  If the population had declined 99%, how was that vessel able to catch so many red steenbras and how are the illegal commercials able to catch so many in Transkei..?  Given that incident and our ineffective compliance initiatives, what more is taking place which is unrecorded to show that the species is not threatened..? 

The core problem is lack of compliance initiative and the illegal trading of these species.  Information has been given to authorities of people operating illegally in unlicensed illegal operations.  Red Steenbras are even targeted during the closed season.  No authority has tried to apprehend these people. If these reports were officially taken into consideration a different picture of the population would emerge.

I realize that scientists are also frustrated with the lack of successful compliance initiatives.  They may believe that a total ban will improve the situation.  However a moratorium on the catching will not do so.  Rather it will worsen the situation as many people who now adhere to the regulations and who report non-compliance will ignore the regulations and stop reporting non-compliance.  Official compliance initiatives are so ineffective that the species will continue to be targeted, but this time with no peer control.  Remove sport fishermen's right to fish for them and they'll become like perlemoen - few will care about them anymore. 

A local ban will not stop trading as the following indicates.  On a business trip to Lisbon Portugal some years ago in November I witnessed red steenbras on ice in the window of most restaurants in one street.  One of the restaurateurs advised they got them in abundance during October/November because the "season for selling them” was closed in South Africa.  This took place during the closed season when a ban on catching them was in force. 

That's what will happen to these fish if they're banned, just like with perlemoen, the trade will go underground and overseas.  I have proven evidence that the price in Umhlanga, KZN in 2009 was R80/kg.  The fish were being openly traded in closed season in November.  The matter was reported to KZN compliance authorities, yet the trade continues in closed season despite the ban.  If everyone is banned from catching them, most everyone will be involved in catching them illegally and there will be no information and effort available to stop the illegal trading.

The answer to protecting this species is to raise their sport/recreational value, to de-commercialize them so they are not allowed to be traded, to lengthen the closed season, declare more Closed Areas where big fish are known to aggregate and encourage compliance initiatives by sport/recreational fishermen.  The solution is certainly not to discourage compliance initiatives and to kill the passsion for the species by banning the catching of them.

What is firstly required is a more accurate record of catches and the effort required to catch them.  If the proposal to ban the catching of these fish is placed on hold for 24 months, within that time period I will endeavour to ensure the following in the Border/Transkei region with considerable chance of success:

   ·   Accurate catch statistics of all species, not only red steenbras, from all Border/Transkei region skiboat clubs and launch-sites;

   ·   Included in the catch statistics, a method of determining the effort – shown as the time taken to catch quota when a species is targeted;

   ·   Areas in which the fish were caught – close, medium and far with distances from shore defining those areas â€“ and sea  and weather conditions pertaining at time of effort;

   ·   A protocol from all Border/Transkei skiboat clubs and launch-site authorities to strictly enforce compliance on red steenbras and other species regarded as threatened and to investigate and report on illegal activities in this regard, including illegal trading;

   ·   A twice-yearly report on compliance initiatives by DAFF compliance officers and unofficial efforts by fishermen, including reports of where non-compliance and excessive targeting is taking place.

Secondly what is required is an extended closed season commencing 1[suP]st[/suP] August, or even 15[suP]th[/suP] July depending on information from local fishermen as to when red steenbras aggregate.

Thirdly, a moratorium on catching them in certain defined areas (or a longer closed season) where known concentrations occur before spawning season.

Preferably a moratorium should also be placed on the trading (sale) of these fish.  This must be acceptable to commercial line-fishermen since the CPUE for them has declined 99% and the species is therefore no longer of any importance to that sector.

People considering this matter must not under-estimate the proven socio-economic importance of recreational/sport fishing to all sectors of our society.  If trophy fish like red steenbras are banned from being caught, investment in boats and tourism will decline to the detriment of the poorer sections of our society.

They must also not under-estimate the positive effect of sport/recreational fishing on compliance initiatives.  Compliance in the Border/Transkei region is assured only by the active participation of recreational/sport anglers and this is set to increase through the efforts of people in organized angling circles.  Law-abiding sport/recreational anglers are no threat to any species.  If they are caught in the same net thrown to stop illegal effort, this will severely undermine their morale and compliance initiatives.

One of the worst unintended effects of the contemplated ban on catching of red steenbras is that this will trash many years of conservation effort by concerned anglers.  Most fishermen are not conservationists per se. They have been persuaded of the merits of sustainability, in that it will provide more and bigger fish to catch.  When they learn that conservation efforts have resulted in a ban on fishing for the very fish they are trying to conserve (so they can continue to catch them) even the converted will target them illegally and an army of compliance officers will not stop the plunder.

Finally, a moratorium based on flawed logic will discredit the scientific and official fraternity which will contribute to even greater non-compliance.  In future when a species is truly endangered few fishermen will heed this.  Given the poor record of official compliance initiatives, this risk cannot be contemplated.

Best regards,

John Rance
Environmental Officer
Border Deep Sea Angling Association   (Affiliated to SADSAA)


"Committed to responsible and sustainable use of the Environment, dedicated to the rights of sportfishermen"

 

 

[tkei]

Well said John. As I have also said over quite a long time, there are a few other options(most of which you have mentioned) that shopuld be tried/ investigasted before drastic action is taken.

Other options could be boat quotas, say 2per baot per day instead of 1pppd. Of couse this will not prevent the Fillet and release anglers that exist.

 

A problem I can forsee with a different closed season for one area where fish are known to agregate earlier, is that guys will still target them there but from launches outside that area. Ie Say the transkei area up to kei river is closed. Guys from Kei mouth could say they caught them off Cintsa when they were actually caught off treneries, and EL boats could still run to kei to catch them.

 

Another option is to have windows of open seasons, ie Blacks closed for 3 months, but coppers open, then they change. It gives the fish a break a few times during the year.

 

 

[Bycatch]

Quite frankly, closed seasons will do nothing for certain species because if the fish is caught 6 months or 1 week before breeding season it is still out of the breeding equation. It will only work where fish travel great distances and congregate to spawn, whilst still considering the natural variability which Mother Nature imposes from time to time. ‘74’s is a classic case – the closed season is 12 months! 

@ tkei - “Another option is to have windows of open seasons, ie Blacks closed for 3 months, but coppers open, then they change. It gives the fish a break a few times during the year.” Blacks seem to spawn between May & October with the majority of reproductively ripe specimens coming from the transkei region which rules that option out. Let’s be real here, how much carnage do we want? 

As long as we have anglers in our midst who cause all these carnages (as per the very apt title of this thread), we as recreational anglers will always be viewed as the destroyers of the resource and not that net on your favourite reef @ Mdumbi. 

Lack of compliance and policing measures seem to stand out as the main constraints here.

 

[CRUSTY]

Keep up the good work Adam, there are few willing to stick their necks out like yourself!

You've attracted one or two critics, if you ask me thats a good thing. I see you are being accused of wanting it all for yourself. Clearly certain people don't seem to understand the launch site application process, costs and operation thereof too well!

To put it out there for those who don't know the operaters of a launch site are compelled by the Authorities in terms of the license issued to them to insure that all regulations pertaining to the use of the facility as well as fishing regulations are complied with. Failure to do so can and will result in the license being revoked!!!

Essentially, one idiot coming through making  pig of himself can stuff it up for everyone who wants to use the facility. Enough idiots making pigs of themselves on a continual basis will (and are) stuffing up the entire resource for everyone! Hence the upcoming ban! Thanks guys!

Those getting upset about certain regions being fingered as safe havens for these pirates, should rather be taking it upon themselves to organise their own houses and rid us of these fools.

Again, keep up the good work Adam, you have a lot of guys backing you!

 

[crackerking]

I agree that thel aunch site should be regulated but the umbumbi club should allow for out of town visitors to become country member paying a annual fee, perhaps getting 5 free launches A YEAR there after paying a launching fee, cause i have been coming to umbumbi for years and i am passionate for protecting our coppers. how much are the launchimg fees at present.