Categories: Report

Gill netting in the Umgeni Estuary

Gill netting in the Umgeni Estuary: I get a LOT of calls AFTER people have been interacting, or trying to interact, with DAFF. Some people have been trying to report criminal activities. And some have been wrongfully accused of illegal activities (Read all about one of those hilarious cases right here).

So before we continue, the contact details of the DAFF people I have been trying to work with, are at this link. This is your first course of action. Many times when I was trying to work with the DAFF dudes, the phone was answered, and there was a deployment of troops.

But sometimes, to disastrous results…

When the DAFF okes first came to town, after Zuma, the then dysfunctional president, fired the then-highly competent Ezimvelo – this is what happened. Just here on the Eastern seaboard of South Africa.

divers in Hibberdene were immediately arrested and charged for crayfish legislation contravention based on rules from the Cape, later acquitted when the mistake was pointed out – wrong province!
the DAFF staff, could not identify any of the species of fish at all, which people soon cottoned onto and exploited
bucktails were declared illegal, you can read that at this link Bucktails vs The Law
many illegal arrests were made, and fines were issued from a police station that never existed – one chap pitched up for his court date to argue, and nobody knew a thing about him or his fine at that police station

And after all this time, the current state of affairs is no different…

youngsters, totally unqualified, are used as inspectors and patrol in plain clothes, in large intimidating groups of five or more
jiggers still dominate in Port St Johns
there are very many places that have not seen a DAFF representative for years
poachers can do what they like – just like the perlie guys in Cape Town, here in the east there is no will to target any criminal activity, rather just harass the innocent tourists, just like in Mozambique and surrounds
very expensive meetings and gatherings are continually paraded to us mere public mortals, aswell as a continued slew of new equipment and expense accounts being announced.

But ok, back to the title of the story…

Two sport anglers went down to the Blue Lagoon (Umgeni River in Durban) last evening (which is actually technically still an estuary), to pop a few lures around the place. They were looking for top lure action from a perch or small kingfish. After a while, one fo the guys changed to a sinking spoon and proceeded to throw.

When they got to the first bridge, the spoon fisherman went vas!

He gained some line, then it took line… felt like a fish, but was actually a whole gill net! Filled with baby grunter, perch, mullet and all sorts of beautiful little juvenile fish. Being a conservation-minded angler, he tried to get the net close so he could destroy it and free the stricken and dying fry.

Next thing there was shouting and rocks came flying from the innards of the bridge somewhere. Hurled at the anglers by the criminals. The two guys calculated that the best position would be far away from these desperate poachers and so they hot-footed it out of there.

Try DAFF yourself…

And so these guys tried to call DAFF. And after hours of fruitless holding and wasted airtime, they again, contacted me. I am going to try my best to get through to these DAFF guys again. And report this too, but please, let’s inundate their contact numbers until somebody comes and removes that net and the associated criminals.

DAFF contact details are HERE. If anybody else has other DAFF numbers please let us have them so that we can update our list. Tx!

In the meantime

We were trying to consider ourselves lucky enough to count the Umgeni, as a functioning estuary. Since we are down to 4 or 5% of what we started with, here in KZN Natal. Yes. Out of 104 or so estuaries, 95 or more of them are completely dysfunctional. Destroyed either by…

Pollution. Watch the Umgeni being polluted wilfully by Durban Waste Management HERE.

Or.

Siltation. Take a look at any small to medium-sized estuary anywhere in KZN.

Or.

Over abstraction. Which affects the flood and tide pulses and therefore the ecosystem of entire estuaries just like the way St. Lucia was destroyed.

But, with a permanent set of gill nets running across the channels right in the nursery for fish that is the Umgeni, how will this hope ever be realised?

Please phone DAFF too until the nets are gone. Contact details right HERE.

For now, the Umgeni is dysfunctional. Just like DAFF and the ANC.

If you would like to find some net-free and clean, functioning estuary fishing, drop us a line via either Umzimkulu Adrenalin or Umzimkulu Marina. Tackle up at MYDO Fishing Lures and stay in touch right here at The Sardine News.

You can watch our jam-packed YouTube Channels too…

https://youtube.com/@mydotackletalk

https://youtube.com/@thesardinenews

https://youtube.com/@surflaunchingsouthernafrica