Rules in (fishing) paradise

Visitors (and locals) to the Garden Route should take note of the following fishing regulations in place to protect life in coastal waters:

* You are not allowed to use artificial breathing apparatus (except a snorkel) while spearfishing;

* You may not catch or attempt to catch a fish using a gaff, spear, club, flail, stick, stone or similar instrument;

* No cast nets may be used between sunset and sunrise;

* You may not disturb, be in possession of, catch or kill a dolphin;

* No person may approach closer than 300m to a whale or disturb, attempt to catch or kill a whale at any time;

* You may not kill, catch, or attempt to catch or kill any great white shark;

* You may not damage, uproot, collect or land any coral, live pansy shells or sea-fans. Coral, pansy shells or sea-fans washed up on the shore may be collected.

* Nobody may catch, land, be in possession of or sell any pipefish or seahorse, nor any abalone (perlemoen) or Venus ear (siffie).
* Bait may not be collected in Knysna’s Invertebrate Reserve (between Thesen’s Island Leisure Island and between Leisure Island and the main channel).

* Spades and forks may not be used for collecting bait, nor traps or gaffs for collecting crabs. Bag limits for bait organisms (such as sea and mud crabs, bloodworms and prawns) must be adhered to.

* No fishing is allowed within the Tsitsikamma National Park near Plett, and no fishing from boats, spear-fishing or bait-collecting is permitted in the Robberg (near Plett) and Goukamma (between Buffalo Bay and Sedgefield) Marine Protected Areas (although shore angling is permitted). The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism also publishes a brochure providing a map of protected areas, and details of legislation governing fishing.

* Recreational anglers may take a maximum of ten fish per day from species listed on SANPark’s ‘Species List for Recreational Anglers’ (which also stipulates bag limits, ranging from 1-10 fish, for individual species). A maximum of ten of each species not mentioned in the Recreational List may be caught, except for taking three Elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and five rockcod.

The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) has also categorised common fish species into a colour-coded guide based on sustainability, ranging from species which can handle current fishing pressure (green) to those species which are illegal to buy or sell in South Africa (red).

* Holders of recreational fishing permits may not offer their catch for sale.

* Fishing permits are required for all forms of angling, and limits on quantities and species apply to both fishing and bait-collecting (which requires an additional permit).

* All vessels using the Knysna Estuary, whether power, or non-power driven, must display valid licence disks and be registered with South African National Parks (SANParks). Valid licence disks can be obtained from SANParks offices at Thesen’s Jetty in Knysna.

Jet-skiing is only permitted Knysna in the Bay of Biscay (alongside the N2, North of The Point) and in Sedgefield on Swartvlei (both requiring a permit), and in Plettenberg Bay when launching from Central Beach and heading north of the Keurbooms River mouth.

* No petrol or diesel driven boats are allowed on Groenvlei.

* National fishing permits can be purchased at the Post Office, and permits for fishing at Groenvlei (a freshwater lake near Sedgefield) are available from the Bait and Tackle Shop in Sedgefield’s Main Street (044 343 1236).