Since its inception in 2012, the Africa Marine & Leisure Expo presented by UGU South Coast Tourism has championed both local and national conservation initiatives alike. The event’s huge popularity has always come as a result of its unique dual focus- on celebrating coastal living and the marine environment on one hand, and promoting the conservation of that environment on the other.
Join EVERYONE down at Spiller’s Wharf, starting tomorrow – the Heritage Day Festival is underway!
Loads of things to do, things to buy and things to see. Kids love it!
A maritime setting down on the Umzimkulu River – Spiller’s Wharf plays host to entertainment, a market and great fun activities like cruising on the river.
A 45 minute cruise costs R45 and takes you up and down the navigable lower section of the Umzimkulu River, through the Umtentweni Conservancy area and down to the beach. Kids under 12 are half price, and you can bring refreshments, snacks or meals on board.
Call Sean on 079 326 9671 to get on board…
Shad and garrick created all the buzz on Hibberdene Beach this weekend…many fish came out. With the season fast coming to a close (1st October), the shad, were coming out by the hundreds…and the large crowds of fishermen making it difficult for the Ezemvelo guys to keep up. Many anglers could be seen flaunting the law. Which is: 4 fish per person. With a license!
The law is there to protect the marine resource that we all take so much out of…don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution. Obey the restrictions!
Below is taken from KZN Wildlife…penned up by JayWay…you could also go to their website and check it all out more comprehensively.
“Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife would like to advise all recreational anglers that the long awaited changes to the recreational fishing regulations have now been promulgated in terms of Government Gazette No 27453.
These new regulations apply to recreational shore based and ski boat fisherman and affect the bag and size limits of certain fish species that may be caught.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife will be producing and distributing awareness pamphlets highlighting these changes, in an effort to assist anglers with understanding and interpreting these new regulations.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife staff will be enforcing these new regulations with immediate effect and appeals to all anglers to familiarize themselves with these new regulations. While every effort will be given by staff to assist anglers, the onus will be on the individuals to ensure that they abide by these new laws.
The promulgation of these regulations were deemed necessary by the then Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism , Mr Valli Moosa, who declared an emergency in the linefish sector. This was done in accordance with section 16 of the Marine Living Resources Act, which allows the Minister to invoke emergency measures to rebuild fish stocks.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife welcomes these new regulations, as they are designed to afford protection to our dwindling marine resources while ensuring equal and long term usage by all.”
New Recreational Line Fish Regulations / Gov Gazette No 27453 6th April 2005
Quick Reference
Changes
Categories Changed – There are only two species categories that apply to the recreational line fisherman. These are:
Daily Bag Limits Changed:
Bag limits – Following species have had their bag limits changed:
Important: Kob caught from a boat at sea in KZN – 5 per person per day of which 4 or all 5 can be between 40 – 110 cm’s & 1 only may be over 110cm’s
Kob caught from the shore & estuaries East of Cape Agulas ( applies to KZN) – 1 per person per day. 60cm’s
Shad – 4 per person per day in open season (1st December – 30th September)
Bag Limits Introduced – The following species are no longer unlimited. Have now had bag limits imposed:
Size Limits
Important:
Kob caught from a boat in KZN – you may only be in possession of 4 between 40cm’s – 110cms & 1 of over 110cm’s / Total bag limit 5 or you may have all 5 between 40cm’s – 110cm’s .
Kob caught from the shore or estuary East Cape Agulas (applies to KZN) – you may only be in possession of 1 of 60cm’s or over
Size Limits Increased – The following species size limits have increased:
Size Limits Introduced – Following species now have size limits imposed:
Closed Seasons Changed– Following species have had there closed seasons changed:
Species Not Listed On Permitted Species List Annexure 7
| Basking Shark Brindle Bass Coelacanth Great White Shark Natal Wrasse |
Pipefish and Sea Horses Potato Bass Sawfishes Seventy Four Whale Shark |
| Anchovies | None | None |
| Baardman(tasslefish, bellman) | 40cm | 5 |
| Banded Galjoen | None | 5 |
| Bill Fish(marlin, sailfish) | None | 5 |
| Blacktail | 20cm | 5 |
| Blue Hottentot | None | 5 |
| Bronze Bream | 30cm | 2 |
| Cape knifejaw | None | 5 |
| Cape Stumpnose | 20cm | 5 |
| Carpenter(silverfish) | 35cm | 4 |
| catfish Rockcod | 50cm | 5 |
| Chub Mackerel | None | None |
| Cutlassfish(walla walla) | None | None |
| Dageraad | 40cm | 1 |
| Dane | None | 5 |
| Englishman | 40cm | 1 |
| Fransmadam | None | 10 |
| Galjoen | 35cm | 2/closed season 15 October-end February |
| Garfishes | None | None |
| Garrick(leerfis) | 70cm | 2 |
| Geelbek(cape salmon | 60cm | 2 |
| Glassies | None | None |
| Hake | None | 5 |
| Halfbeaks | None | None |
| Horse Mackerel(maasbanker) | None | None |
| Hottentot | 22cm | 10 |
| John Brown | None | 5 |
| Kingfishes | None | 5 |
| kingklip | None | 1 |
| King Mackerel | None | 10 |
| Kob caught from a boat at sea(Cape Agulhas to Umtamvuna) |
50cm | 5 but may only be in possession of one Kob greater than 110cm per day |
| Kob caught from a boat at sea(KwaZulu-Natal) |
40cm | 5 but may only be in possession of one Kob greater than 110cm per day |
| Kob caught in estuaries and and from the shore(east of Cape Agulhas) |
60cm | 1 |
| Kob caught in estuaries and from shore(west of Cape Agulhas) |
50cm | 5 |
| Karanteen | 15cm | 10 |
| large Spot Pompano(wave garrick) | None) | 5 |
| Leopard Cat Shark | None | 1 |
| Mullets | None | 50 |
| Natal Knifejaw(cuckoo bass) | None | 5 |
| Natal Stumpnose(yellow bream) | 25cm | 5 |
| Pinky | 7.5cm | 10 |
| Poenskop(black mussel cracker) | 50cm | 1 |
| Queen Mackerel | None | 10 |
| Ragged Tooth Shark | None | 1 |
| Red steenbras(copper steenbras) | 60cm | 1 closed season 1 October-30 November |
| Red Stumpnose(miss lucy) | 30cm | 1 |
| River bream(perch) | 25cm | 5 |
| River Snapper(rock salmon) | 40cm | 5 |
| Roman | 30cm | 2 |
| Soldier(santer) | 30cm | 5 |
| Shad(elf) | 30cm | 4 closed season1 October-30 November |
| Sardines(pilchards and Red Eye) | None | None |
| Sauries | None | None |
| Scads | None | None |
| Scotsman | 40cm | 1 |
| Slinger | 25cm | 5 |
| Snoek(Cape snoek) | 60cm | 10 |
| Southern Pompano | none | 5 |
| Spotted Grunter | 40cm | 5 |
| Spotted Gully Shark | None | 1 |
| Springer | None | 5 |
| Steenjie | None | 10 |
| Stonebream | None | 5 |
| Striped Cat Shark | None | 1 |
| Swordfish(broadbill) | 25kg | 5 |
| Squid(chokka) | None | 20 |
| Tunas(tunny | None | 10 |
| Albacore(longfin tuna) | none | 10 |
| Bigeye tuna | 3.2kg | 10 |
| Bluefin Tuna | 6.4kg | 10 |
| Yellowfin Tuna | 3.2kg | 10 |
| West Coast Steenbras | 60cm | 1 |
| White edge Rockcod(captain fine) | 40cm | 5 |
| White musselcracker(brusher, cracker) | 60cm | 2 |
| White Steenbras(pignose grunter) | 60cm | 1 |
| White Stumpnose | 25cm | 10 |
| Wolfherring | None | None |
| Yellowbelly Rockcod | 60cm | 1 |
| Yellowtail | None | 10 |
| Zebra | 30cm | 5 |
MARINE RECREATIONAL FISHING GENERAL REGULATIONS
For more information phone: (021) 402-3911 or consult the Amended Regulations (R24 of 14 January 2000) in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998
Yip it’s that dangerous time of the year again…when the H.U.C. guys host their annual crayfishing competition on the KZN South Coast! But the danger ain’t in the water – no way, it’s afterwards at the crayfish braai! Batten down the hatches, this is really a fantastic event that provides fun and laughs for the whole family.
The event takes place on the 13 September, and is based at the Scottburgh Country Club. Call Johann Prinsloo on 082 510 5858 for more details.
When the call came through, that our Wavejet powered SUP had arrived…it was slow motion from that moment on. It felt like some sort of dream, or like being in a movie…I mean every surfer since a kid as dreamed of a powered board. Struggling against the raging Ponto D’Ouro torrent, being swept out to sea in a huge easterly swell, charging against the crowds at Supers…the thought of some power to your paddle has danced around in front of us like a fantasy for eons.
And here it is…
The Wavejet powered surfboard.
As it turns out, this time, our power is attached to a monster surfboard. 11 feet of it. And when I first fired up, nothing happened, except a noise and a vibration under my feet. Remembering detailed instructions from Mr. Patrick Skeates, the go to Wavejet guy in Cape Town, I stroked a few times with the paddle, and next thing the jets bit into the water and scooted me off at some weird kind of full speed.
I was off…belting across the Umzimkulu River with a paddle in my hand and a huge scifi looking wristwatch flashing all sorts of coloured lights, on my wrist. I tapped the single button on the wristwatch and almost fell off as the jets let go. Another tap and I was back off zooming towards the far bank. Time to turn. Oh oh…it ain’t that easy, and we put the huge single fin right at the back of it’s box, but with the paddle in the water as far out as possible, she turned on a ticky. Obviously, the further back you go on the board, the easier the turns become.
So taking turns, John Fever and I zoomed around the wharf, the dogs insisted on coming aboard, at one stage I had 2 Jack Russells with me. If you know how to surf or skate, or ski I suppose, this is very easy. There is practically no stability problems for smaller guys like me and Fever.
Then my Dad had a go, he is huge, and opted to sit paddle ski style…and off he went, zooming around and around…with that same smile everyone gets when they get a go on this machine.
Then John took a ride down towards the mouth, turning back just past Spiller’s Wharf…when he got back, the Wavejet was still beckoning fore more, but the wristwatch was playing disco lights by now. So because it was our first session, we undid everything and took the pod upstairs for a clean and a charge.
The charging pack deals with the wristwatch and the Wavejet pod, at the same time. The wristwatch sits in a recessed holder within the charging pack (a pelican case style box) and a cable plugs simply straight into the pod. When the lights all go green (there are many lights)…it’s back on the water!
Fitting the pod back into the board is a one minute operation, and getting it off should be too, but John and I had difficulty the first few times. By now we are experts and do it a second. The supplied tools make things a cinch.
So, it’s a great piece of kit, and on the huge SUP, is versatile enough to take over a big portion of your ocean going hours. For funning around on flat water, it’s great…remembering that we are using clean energy, and aside from electricity to charge with, there are no other costs.
It is pouring with rain down here on the Umzimkulu today, and looks like it’s going to continue. But on Saturday, at 10am, we will have our Wavejet SUP down at Spiller’s Wharf, for anyone interested in buying one, or just having a go.
In the meantime, the waves are cooking at The Block, fish are jumping, and the Wavejet pod and cameras are fully charged…check back soon!
