Tag: DAFF

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Do you need a fishing license to catch sardines?

Sardine License Please

Do you need a fishing license to catch sardines?

Do you need a fishing license to catch sardines? Very interesting question this one. Came to me. So Lets read the rules together…

The Rules

You can download the rules in PDF form to your phone or computer and have them with you at all times. Its a very nicely put-together document and we should all be familiar with it.

DOWNLOAD

But here listed below, are the juicy bits, that might answer the big question…do you need a fishing license to catch yourself a few sardines in the shore break? With your bare hands. Or a bucket. A skirt. A t-shirt. Washing baskets work wonders…here goes…

General Regulations

Every recreational angler must pay for the right to fish
in marine waters by buying an annual (or temporary)
recreational fishing permit. Different types of fishing
permits are available including angling, spearfishing, boat
skipper, etc. These permits are available from the Post
Office.

  • A recreational fishing permit entitles the holder to catch
    fish for own use only and not to sell or trade.
  • The holder of a recreational angling permit is entitled to
    catch fish of the Class Pisces (i.e. bony fish, sharks, rays,
    skates and chimaeras) only with a rod, reel and line, to
    which no more than 10 hooks are attached.
  • The holder of a recreational spearfishing permit is entitled
    to catch fish of the Class Pisces (i.e. bony fish, sharks, rays,
    skates and chimaeras) only with a speargun.
  • The skipper of a vessel used for recreational fishing shall
    be in possession of a permit endorsed for recreational
    fishing from a vessel.
  • The holder of a spearfishing permit shall not use any
    artificial respiratory equipment, except for a snorkel.
  • The holder of a recreational fishing permit authorised to
    fish within a Marine Protected Area (MPA) must adhere
    to the conditions specific to that MPA.
  • The holder of a recreational angling and/or spearfishing
    permit shall not catch or be in possession of:
    a) Any fish listed as a Prohibited Species.
    b) More than the daily bag limit listed for that species
    during any one day. Furthermore, there is an overall
    cumulative bag limit of ten (10) fish per person per day
    irrespective of the species caught, except that this
    does not apply to baitfish species where there is no
    bag limit or to species where the bag limit is greater
    than 10.
    MARINE RECREATIONAL
    FISHING REGULATIONS
    in South Africa
    c) Any fish smaller than, or of a mass less than, the size
    limit listed for that species.
    d) Any fish during the closed season listed for that species.
  • The holder of a recreational spearfishing permit shall not
    catch or attempt to catch fish in an estuary.
  • All fish that are landed, except sharks, skates, rays and
    chimaeras, must have head and tail intact so that it can be
    established whether the fish conforms to the minimum
    size and/or mass, provided that it may be gutted.
  • Any fish caught in contravention of the provisions of
    the Act or the permit conditions must immediately be
    returned to the sea with as little injury as possible.

Comment

Well, to me this certainly looks like it reads that everyone who collects anything from the ocean, in any way, needs a form of fishing license! Luckily I managed to get my license at the Port Shepstone Post Office since the South African Post Office stopped paying rent to all its cute little satellite and handy branches that were dotted all over the country. Little towns and villages. They all had these quaint versions of a cultural icon that we have ALL relied on for our lives until recently. Pen pals. Mail order. Postcards…so much fun!

But they were mercilessly culled off. Another ANC achievement. Shut down. Jobs and livelihoods gone. So now you got to hike to the bigger centres to find a working post office.

And get a fishing license!

And then when the officials come raiding your beach like stormtroopers, in their decked-out new bakkies, you can show them, the difference between a shad and a santer. With the PDF download on your phone.

Sardines and Sighting Maps

We have started the 2025  Sardine Run Map! Download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.

2024 was a thrilling year for sardines. All the action has been logged right here on The Sardine News. The 2024 map has been viewed 200 000 times and just keeps going.

Which led us to decide to keep the map live. And keep adding unique marine animal sightings and events. That occurs non-stop all year round. Last year we started to log more whale and dolphin sightings. And we even had a shipwreck! This year we have had two sailboat incidents already. PLUS, we have already logged some sardines!

Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps…

2025 Sardine Map

2024 Sardine Map

2023 Sardine Map

2022 Sardine Map

2021 Sardine Map

Channels

Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining  surf reporting

Master Watermen – news from way down deep

The Sardine News – neva miss a single  sardine

FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus

MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical  sport fishing

Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely

Water Woes – complain about your municipality

Share
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Rhino Horn vs. Abalone

Rhino Horn vs. Abalone

Rhino Horn vs. Abalone: It does not take a genius to work out that you cannot have those that are supposed to
protect an endangered species profit from trade in dead pieces of the same animals.
Even more so in the corrupt environment that currently exists in South-Africa. Rhino
horn and elephant tusks are excellent examples. International trade in rhino horn and
elephant tusks were banned in 1977 and 1989 respectively. In South Africa, confiscated
rhino horn and elephant tusks are stockpiled, but not sold. Admittedly this is a huge
temptation for criminals and corrupt officials; and there have been “irregularities.”
The arrangement regarding confiscated abalone on the other hand seems made in
corruption heaven. All confiscated abalone is handed over to the department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (the department), who then have it processed
and auctioned. The proceeds go into the “Marine Living Resources Fund”, from where it
is used for the “operational expenses” of the department. In fact, the department has
been known to boast about being nearly “self financing” this way. As far as I could
determine, no checks and balances exist externally from the department.
Not surprisingly, a quick search on the internet will reveal several examples of
corruption involving departmental officials and confiscated abalone. One of the most
noteworthy incidents happened in 2018, when most of the top management of the
department, including the Minister, had a legal “punch up” amongst each other that cost
millions; and centered around confiscated abalone. Accusations of criminal conduct
were made by and against all parties involved. You can see the Groundup article by
Kimon Greeff.
https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/fisheries-department-rots-from-the-top/
at
You would expect that this widely reported incident would motivate those in oversight
and conservation positions to establish a more appropriate arrangement for confiscated
abalone. While there was some discussion on the matter, the status quo remains. On
the DFFE website you will find details of a recent call by the department for the
submissions of tenders for the processing of confiscated abalone for a period of 36
months. The final date for submissions was
17 February 2025. (See
DFFE tender for processing abalone.pdf
)
While it is hard to access exact figures, it is estimated by those in “inner abalone
circles” that the Department trades the live equivalent of abalone at a volume that is 15
times greater than the total legal abalone fishery in South Africa. The department is
currently by far the biggest “legal” trader in wild abalone, and much concern has been
raised to me about the lack of transparency with regards to the amounts processed, the
amounts sold, the yields, the quality, the low prices achieved, the department competing
with the legal rights holders etc. etc.
Keep in mind that the confiscated abalone that the department exports represents only
a small fraction of the illegal trade, since few smugglers actually get caught. This is
confirmed by import figures provided by “traffic”, a monitoring organization. All abalone
are considered “legal” once it reaches the east, making monitoring relatively simple.
According to traffic, the illegal trade amounts up to the equivalent of nearly 3000 tons of
live abalone per year, worth over a billion rands annually.
As they say in a low budget telemarketing commercial: “But wait; it gets even better!!” –
at least from the department’s point of view. The department does not have to
confiscate the illegally harvested abalone themselves. Any abalone that gets
confiscated by customs, law enforcement or the police, has to be handed over to the
department, leaving plenty of time to consider the colour of their next Mercedes. Now
consider that, by implication, the WORSE the department performs at keeping abalone
alive and well in the water, the GREATER their income will be.
The results of this “arrangement” is evident. In the Overstrand, residents have stopped
trying to report abalone poaching a long time ago. Calls to the local branch of fisheries
enforcement go unanswered, that is if you can even find a number to call. I just did a
search on the internet for “fisheries enforcement Overstrand” and could find no number
to call. For many years the standard procedure from the department, if you managed to
make contact AND were not informed that there are no inspectors available, has been
to send a vehicle filled with inspectors to watch poachers killing abalone. This almost
never led to an arrest. It would be stating the obvious when saying that you cannot
enforce a water based crime from the land, and unless you interrupt the poachers in
their activities, you are wasting your time.
The department is NOT open for suggestions to improve their enforcement strategies,
nor do they seem to learn from their failures. An email requesting a meeting to discuss
these matters was pointedly ignored.
The results of nearly 20 years of this “arrangement” is evident to those who enter the
water regularly. You would be very lucky to spot even a single abalone today in areas
that used to be covered in them. Once again, our environment is quietly suffering under
this mismanagement, and the legal commercial abalone rights holders have lost the
bulk of their livelihoods, while DFFE officials have gotten fat (figuratively but sometimes
quite literally) off a resource that was never meant for them. From a government
perspective, instead of just collecting tax and levies off the abalone industry, they have
now effectively and to a large extent “taken it over”; and are walking away with the full
financial benefit that should have gone to the legal fishers.
If anyone should have a claim on the confiscated abalone, or at least on a part of it, it
should be the abalone rights holders, since it was their future income that was
plundered. Yet, as the resource declined, they suffered quota cut after quota cut, and
nearly all of them are currently in financial dire straits.
The sad thing is that this situation is probably reversible, and I have encountered much
goodwill and enthusiasm for such a project. It will unfortunately never happen unless the
department comes to the table. I can only appeal to those in influential positions to start
applying pressure where it is needed.
You can see this post on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15urPFUnn8/
Don’t miss the next article.
Anton Kruger

Abalone vs Rhino Horn Article
Abalone vs Rhino Horn Article
Abalone vs Rhino Horn being counted
Abalone vs Rhino Horn being counted
Abalone vs Rhino Horn
Abalone vs Rhino Horn

Sardines and Sightings

Check out our annual Sardine Run Map! Download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.

Here are the links to existing and past  Sardine Sighting Maps…

2025 Sardine Map

2024 Sardine Map

2023 Sardine Map

2022 Sardine Map

2021 Sardine Map

Channels

Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining  surf reporting

Master Watermen – news from way down deep

The Sardine News – neva miss a single  sardine

FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus

MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical  sport fishing

Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely

Water Woes – complain about your municipality

Share
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Abalone – What is Really going on?

Abalone

Abalone – What is Really going on?

Abalone—What is really going on? In this series, we have guest star conservation contributor Anton Kruger hard at work educating the government on abalone ethics. This is the second so far; the first one can be found right here (opens in new tab).

Follow my short series about the plight of this unfortunate mollusc and the bun
fight surrounding it; with our government up to its usual tricks.

The DFFE press release about “misinformation” that
really is – well – misinformation
I recently posted about the plans of our sea fisheries department (DFFE) to take away
the abalone from the current legal rights holders and give it to a new group that has no
legal dependence on harvesting abalone, thereby leaving the current rights holders
destitute. A real “rob Peter to pay Paul” scenario – and a repeat of what the Department
did in 2016 to the Nearshore West Coast Rock Lobster Sector. All of this is against the
backdrop of an abalone resource that is in a critical state of depletion. You can see this
post at https://www.facebook.com/share/16cNVRMGgN/
My post was quickly followed by a press release from DFFE, with the title
“MISINFORMATION REGARDING THE COMMERCIAL ABALONE FISHING
SECTOR” in big, bold letters. You can see it at
MEDIA STATEMENT – Misinformation about the Commercial Abalone Fishing Sec…
While not actually saying it in so many words, it keeps hinting at “misinformation” and
“misunderstandings”, basically making out that my post was a fabrication based on not
listening/reading properly. It also seems to try and justify their plans for the abalone
fishery by berating the current abalone exemption right holders, of whom I happen to be
one, and mentions that many of them are currently “under investigation.” More about
this in later; let us first deal with the “disinformation” claim.
I have in my possession the signed-off minutes of the abalone working group meeting for
10 December 2024, confirming my social media protestations. You can see it at
Minutes of Abalone MWG meeting held on 10 December 2024 in MRM Boardroom…
I quote:
“The recommendation on the draft submission is to request the Minister to: approve the
publication of a government gazette for public comment advising of the Minister’s intention
to reclassify the commercial Abalone fishery in the Western Cape as a small-scale
fishery resource allocating 100% of the abalone Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to the
small-scale fishing sector”
From this document, it is clear that the Department intends to take away 100% of the
fishing rights of the current Commercial Abalone Sector to give it to the Small-scale
Sector. What is unclear is what the “misinformation” was?
You will note another line in the “minutes” of the 10 December 2024 meeting that DFFE
tried to slip past us, which was strongly objected to.
I quote:
“The Department is planning to sign off the Abalone strategy that was ?developed with
the industry by the end of the 2024/2025 financial year.”
You will see this line slyly suggests that the current plans for abalone were hatched “in
consultation” with the “industry/stakeholders”. Really. Who in his right mind would
suggest or agree to a plan that would leave them with zero income? This is simply not
true, and a written objection was submitted.
This lie is repeated in the press release. I quote: “?The Department has been having
discussions with various stakeholders to consider the future of the management of the
abalone sector”
Per definition the ONLY abalone “stakeholders” at the moment are the exemption right
holders; and the “Industry” is the combination of the exemption right holders, the
processors and the marketers. Anyone else that currently has a financial dependency
on wild abalone, is not a “stakeholder” but a criminal. That is, except for the department,
but that deserves an article all by itself and borders on criminality if you ask me. Who
the department has been consulting with is unclear, but it certainly has not been the
abalone “stakeholders” that they claim.
I have to point out that the Department has a legal obligation to consult with the current
exemption right holders (all of them), as the ONLY stakeholders, BEFORE drafting or
proposing future plans for the abalone fishery; and not the other way around, as they
are currently doing.
The assurance that “every affected person will be provided with an opportunity to
object” inspires little confidence. Surely a caring and effective Department, that is
mindful to the comments and input of those they are supposed to serve, will, after
extensive consultation with them, attempt to draft a way forward that MINIMIZES
objections?
The department’s track record of minding objections is exceptionally poor. For instance,
during the fishing rights allocation process of 2016 (FRAP2016) all objections to the
Department’s plans for the west coast rock lobster were categorically ignored, and
today the Nearshore West Coast Rock Lobster Sector remains effectively ruined
because of what transpired, which is another big red light. The department still refuses
to even discuss simple remedial action for that sector; and considers the matter “done
and dusted.” On enquiry; I have repeatedly been informed that if I am not happy with the
outcome, I should take the department to court. This has unfortunately become the way
that things are done in the Department.
Finally, in stark contradiction to the Department’s persistent claims about “consultation”
and their willingness to consult, DDG Ms. Sue Middleton has point-blank refused to
meet as a matter of urgency with the current exemption right holders, including myself.
In fact, Ms. Middleton has been approached on numerous occasions and by multiple
organizations that wish to assist in finding ways to not only provide immediate financial
relief for long-suffering fishers in various sectors, but also arrest and reverse the
decimation of our marine living resources before it is too late. The tragedy is of course
that those resources that are being decimated have no voice to protest, and those that
regularly harvest them are unwilling to mention the decline due to fear of having their
quotas cut/revoked.
Ms. Middleton has shown no interest in discussing ways to turn around the destructive
legacy of her Department. All requests for meetings in this regard have been denied. In
fact, in her latest denial, Ms. Middleton has now threatened me personally with legal
action about my utterances. Well, Ms. Middleton, your department has already
financially ruined the lives of thousands of fishers, including myself, by issuing a
multitude of tiny quotas that are all financially unsustainable, with a large number of
them being paper quotas, demonstrating little concern for the health of our resources
and implementing few effective enforcement measures. Not sure what further “relief”
you will be able to wring from me; so go for it.
May I also kindly remind you that you are a public servant and that, while Parliament is
doing everything in their power to put an end to this disgraceful practice, currently we
still have the right to publicly express our dissatisfaction with the “performance” of our
officials. It is called accountability to those you serve, or rather should serve. In your
case, “performance measurement” really demands an article by itself.
And then there is DA Minister Dion George. Numerous letters and requests to him to
intervene have been met with a deathly silence, which has become the norm when
trying to communicate with DA ministers and politicians on those really sticky issues.
Maybe we should start calling him “Silent George?”
You can see this post on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18NvXhfj49/
Don’t miss the next article.
Anton Kruger

Read the first instalment right HERE.

Sardines and Sightings

Check out our annual Sardine Run Map! Download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.

Here are the links to existing and past  Sardine Sighting Maps…

2025 Sardine Map

2024 Sardine Map

2023 Sardine Map

2022 Sardine Map

2021 Sardine Map

Channels

Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining  surf reporting

Master Watermen – news from way down deep

The Sardine News – neva miss a single  sardine

FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus

MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical  sport fishing

Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely

Water Woes – complain about your municipality

Share
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Kob Slaughter in Namibia – Full Story

Bring on the Clowns - Kob Slaughter in Namibia

Kob Slaughter in Namibia – Full Story

Kob Slaughter in Namibia – Full Story: As it turns out, the kob slaughter we have recently been exposed to on social media, has been going on for quite some time now. Some of the transgressors have been apprehended, and jailed. Just not the ones in our video on YouTube (below). Their identities are clear for all to see on their blockbuster video. But so far they have seemingly gotten away scot-free.

DAFF and the Namibian counterpart government organisation are well aware of the plunder. And have started to work together. So these clowns should be getting a call soon.

Watch the video here…the Namibia Kob Slaughter section is about halfway through…the culprits are not identified in this particular video. But there are plenty of versions on Facebook for you to see who they are, for yourself.

You can subscribe to our YouTube Channel right HERE. The Sardine News breaks here first! Daily reports and updates.

From Ground Zero in Henties Baai

I interviewed a few local fishermen from the Henties Bay area, and this is what one old ballie had to say…

“Well it is an ongoing thing that will not be easy to stop or to be controlled unless they replace the Police, staff and Nature Conservation staff that is placed there. Terrace Bay is way up north and there is a small area that is allowed to be fished. Now what happens is, the people come from SA yearly, get the ‘right Gillies’, (not law obiding) they leave Henties bay and go to Terrace bay. There the Police, the Staff, the Nature Conservation staff all get a pay-off. The gillies arranges everything. Then the guys go, police included, beyond the border where you are not allowed to fish. You don’t have to have any form fishing skills to fish there, as you just lob your bait in the water and the fish are there in abundance. And this happens yearly. Last year, the same group that posted this fish now, did the same. This time of the year our Kob is on feeding frenzy because they finished to spawn. And this catching of the fish illegally happens yearly. It only reached the correct people now, that is why there is some action being taken.”

“But ya, something has to be done. And rather late than never. Luckily something is starting to happen. My question is how do they keep on getting away with this type of wrong doings. The videos they share is more than enough proof that they need to be fined, or whatsoever. I have spoken to one guy that is also working at Terrace, he said that he is not sure who or what group has been caught as there are numbers of groups handing out bribe money to fish there. And coming in numbers mostly on a daily basis. However another source said it is the same group of guys caught and another source said it is not.”

“And the saddest part of all is the area they catch these fish is in a closed protected area. No one is allowed to fish there. And it is really not difficult to catch something, the one oke told me he just flips his rod with a soft under arm swing. Every cast is vas.”

The other interviews were pretty much along the same lines. And all of them are elated at the fact that they recently had guests in the Government Hotel at Khorixas (police cells). But the corruption runs deep in Africa and there are some badly rotten apples riding in the conservation apple cart too, evidently.

South Africans

I have been to Henties and a few either places in Namibia and it’s the same. Bombastic, rude, rich and callous South Africans, always in a big group of two or three double cabs, marauding anything and everything that even looks like a fish.

It happens in the Transkei. It happens in Mozambique. South Africans, with bags of money and expensive equipment, get so out of hand and evil that they leave not only their tracks but a trail of destruction.

Recent complaints filed in the Henties Bay area…

  • a 4 x4 from South Africa ploughed through a roosting group of Cape Cormorants in Henties Bay at full speed killing most of the hapless birds
  • a 4 x 4 from South Africa chased down and rode over a local’s doggie, on the beach, causing severe injury and a vet bill,
  • a 4 x 4 from South Africa, accompanied by two more, recently loaded 220 kob illegally – Terrace Bay
  • a 4 x 4 from South Africa, accompanied by two more, recently loaded 105 kob illegally – Terrace Bay
  • a 4 x 4 from South Africa was recently busted buying worms and mussels illegally to hammer the ever-suffering West Coast Steenbras stock in Namibia

Now these 4 x 4s from South Africa don’t drive themselves. Nor do they catch any fish on their own. But put a few trash humans in the mix, and voila, we have illegal killing teams operating on our beaches. Here in the Transkei. Beaches in Namibia. And up in Mozambique.

Who are these sub-humans?

Usual Suspects

Well…the same ones as usual it turns out. These people are part of the same group of creeps who were photographed with a huge illegal catch of kob in the Transkei a few years ago. They are pros. They have all the gear and equipment. They move in large groups together. They surely do this for profit, for the hauls of fish they have been photographed with are worth a small fortune in a fish shop.

Sadly, these guys drag the local gillies down with them. Their greed spills out over and onto the gillies who just see dollar signs when these guys come to town.

Authorities

According to the authorities, these guys are going down no matter what. And that time will tell. The Namibian locals are furious with the poaching South Africans too. The authorities up there have caught a few transgressors recently. Some jail time and half-decent fines have been issued. It’s embarrassing for them to have this news all over social media…as the transgressors brag about their crimes conducted in Namibia – on Facebook!

The net is closing in on these criminals…stay posted right here at The Sardine News.

Sardines and Sighting Maps

We have started the 2025  Sardine Run Map! Download our app to your phone or device, accept notifications, and you will never miss a single sardine.

2024 was a thrilling year for sardines. All the action has been logged right here on The Sardine News. The 2024 map has been viewed 200 000 times and just keeps going.

Which led us to decide to keep the map live. And keep adding unique marine animal sightings and events. That occurs non-stop all year round. Last year we started to log more whale and dolphin sightings. And we even had a shipwreck! This year we have had two sailboat incidents already. PLUS, we have already logged some sardines!

Here are the links to existing and past Sardine Sighting Maps…

2025 Sardine Map

2024 Sardine Map

2023 Sardine Map

2022 Sardine Map

2021 Sardine Map

Channels

Brucifire Surf Retorts – highly entertaining  surf reporting

Master Watermen – news from way down deep

The Sardine News – neva miss a single  sardine

FishBazaruto – 1000 pounds plus

MYDO Tackle Talk – highly technical  sport fishing

Surf Launching Southern Africa – getting out there safely

Water Woes – complain about your municipality here

Websites

umzimkulu.co.za – self-catering right on the Umzimkulu River
umzimkuluadrenalin.co.za –  will get you right out and onto the edge
thesardine.co.za – never miss a single sardine
masterwatermen.co.za – news from under water
fishbazaruto.com – dreams
brucifire.co.za – surf retorts

Share
Posted on by — 2 Comments

Black marlin caught in shark nets off Durban

Black marlin caught in shark nets off Durban

Caught in the shark nets. It happens all the time. Dolphins. Whales. Turtles. Even huge kob and couta. Fall victim to the indiscriminate slaughter with gill nets. Randomly executed by the Kwazulu Natal Sharks Board.

And this beautiful young black marlin is also now dead too. All for what? There are so many practical measures you can put in to effect, other than gill netting, to curb shark/human interactions. If you look closely, there is a bite mark amidships the marlin’s body. This is how more and more animals get caught up and die. Feeding on fish already trapped in the suffocating nets. These nets kill thousands each year. Meshed by professional crews with top notch killing equipment. Always with new boats, outboards and land cruisers. Petrol. In 1990, these guys had 44.4 km of gillnets covering 14% of the 326km coastline, between Richards Bay and Mzamba. Can you believe that?

Their annual average catch between 2009 and 2014 was a good 441 sharks killed per year. They kill an average of 26 Great Whites. And it’s very difficult to find out how many dolphins and other cetaceans are killed. Turtles. Fish…

And there are a host of players out there nowadays, selling all sorts of technological solutions, that can be applied at any beach. Any surf spot. At a fraction of the cost.

For many years, we have campaigned against shark nets. And there was light at the end of the tunnel with shark POD technology developed in co-operation with the bungling Natal Sharks Board. They stopped the distribution under their own directive in 2001. And stuck with the murderous gill nets.

Black marlin caught in shark nets off Durban
Black marlin caught in shark nets off Durban. It takes four bungling government entities for this to happen. Thanks to Chris Leppan of Umhlanga, who put this on our desk.

Here is a list of the shark protection devices, that cost a marginal tiny amount of what it costs to kill sharks at a beach for one year. The beaches could ALL be equipped with these devices, and even given out freely for the public to use (with an ID Card of course). Or even rented. The money that the bloated Natal Sharks Board and the failing Ezimvelo uses, could absorb these costs from savings by pulling out the nets and meshing teams.

https://sharkshield.com/

 

http://www.sharkprotection.com.au/

And a very cool video showing the results of extensive testing done with the infamous Great White Shark…by Shark Shield. It CLEARLY is the way to go.

There are many more products now using the exact same principles and technology that the Natal Parks Board could have harnessed all those years ago. There have been many attacks in this time. That, if they could have been avoided by implementing these breakthrough technologies, are squarely the fault of the Natal Sharks Board.

Sonar instead of shark nets

Then when we realised the beaurocratic mess the board was tied up in, we tried to help. We proposed rigging beaches with off the shelf sonar equipment rather. Fish finders. Feed this data back to a control station, and we can eliminate human shark encounters by monitoring for big animals and alerting the bather public with flag signals and alarms. It never went forward like the rest of the world did. They had this information more than a decade back and refused to use it.

Enter the Clever Buoy. Here is a special device that uses sonar technology and can easily detect sharks in order to operate early warning systems. The system is already deployed extensively and is a proven way to protect humans and sharks at the same time.

We presented the exact technology to the Natal Sharks Board over a decade ago. Extensive research and presentations. Went through many unfruitful meetings. Were eventually sidelined. And this technology too was lost to the Australians.

The latest chapter in the future of our marine life is that the KZN clown show are attempting to marry the two failing organisations – the Natal Parks Board, and Ezimvelo. The scandals within Ezimvelo are enough to run a soap opera with. And the fact that the abominable Natal Sharks Board, an illegal organisation that operates exactly like a fishery, gill nets, licenses, and all, is beyond me. Wood for the trees. But they also can’t keep up with their expenses.

Now we have DAFF taking Ezimvelos job too. The main players in the debacle are 1. the KZN Government to start with, 2. the Government Department doing the job of the 3. Government Organisation that is supposed to protect the sharks and the 4. Government Organisation that is supposed to kill the very same sharks – all in the same series!

Stay on this channel!

More articles with more facts about the Kwazulu Natal Sharks Board and their R60 million or more budget are right here…

https://thesardine.co.za/2015/06/01/why-the-natal-sharks-board-lies-all-the-time/

https://thesardine.co.za/2015/07/20/how-to-stop-the-natal-sharks-board-from-killing-our-sharks/

 

 

Share