Poaching report to be escalated
Abalone poaching and its impact on coastal communities must be investigated in all nine provinces.
This is according to Beverley Schäfer, member of Provincial Parliament and Standing Committee Chairperson on Economic Opportunities, Tourism, and Agriculture, who tabled the Abalone Report in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament last week for review at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
“I want this pertinent issue to be investigated along each and every coastline in our country to assess the impact of this illegal activity on our communities, and to hold the respective national ministries to account for failing to decisively address it,” said Schäfer.
The Abalone Poaching Report was compiled after a series of hearings was held in the Provincial Parliament. Many local stakeholders contributed to the hearings, which found that abalone poaching costs the Overstrand millions of Rands in tourism revenue each year (“Stropery kos Overberg miljoene”, Hermanus Times, 16 February 2017).
The report also found that in the Western Cape alone, the National Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), the Ministry of Public Works, as well as the Ministry of Police have failed in their mandate.
“There is no protection of our coastline from illegal fishing nor of our people from the gangs who capitalise on it, there is a failing system of fishing quota allocation for small-scale fishermen to access our oceans economy, and the maintenance of our harbours and small-scale fishing infrastructure has been completely abandoned,” said Schäfer.
“It must be established how confiscated abalone can be sold by DAFF to fund their Department.”