Zimpapers Logo

CAPE TOWN. – All illegal fishing activities by strong coalition of both local and foreign fishers are equated to “an act of terrorism,” the South African Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said yesterday. The announcement came after almost 10 foreign fishing vessels with more than 160 tonnes of fish, mainly tuna from suspected vessels that had illegally changed their names, have been seized in an intensified crackdown.

The crackdown also led to the arrests and detention of several suspected fishers who were found fishing in prohibited fishing zones, the committee said in a statement e-mailed to Xinhua.

Anti-poaching interventions have led to evident decline of illegal fishing activities and several arrests since October this year, the committee said. But it did not mention the nationality of the detained vessels and fishers.

In September, the Japanese-registered long-line vessel Koei Maru No 88 had been detained for a variety of alleged transgressions near the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area off Durban in Eastern South Africa.

The ship might be involved in whale hunting as the waters are frequented by whales.

Illegal marine poaching “necessitates an immediate call for more investment and resources in the anti-poaching interventions in an effort to protect the seashores and preserve marine-living resources in South Africa,” said the committee.

In the statement, Committee Chairperson Lulu Johnson called for tougher penalties against all those arrested and involved in the recent incidents and described the involvement of foreign fishers in illegal activities as tantamount to acts of terrorism and mercenary against South Africa.

Johnson said he believed that the rapid processing and implementation of the Marine Living Resources Amendment Legislation, which is currently before the National Council of Provinces, will further contribute to the decline of poaching and other illegal fishing activities in the country’s waters.

The discovery and shutting down of an illegal abalone processing establishment in Gauteng Province in October, which led to the confiscation of more than 476kg of dried abalone with an estimated value of about US$170 000 , was an indication that the syndicates did not only operate along the seashore, the committee said. – Xinhua.