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10 Jan 2020

Gillnets draining the life out of Kosi Bay

Karen Singh (Mercury: IOL) Picture: A Durban angler pulled half of a 2km gillnet out of Lake Kuhlange, one of four in the Kosi Bay system, while on holiday last month.

Durban – Described as the “last haven of untouched African paradise”, Kosi Bay, located in the protected area of iSimangaliso Wetland Park and bordering Mozambique, is home to endangered loggerhead and leatherback turtles, the rare palm nut vulture and the African fish eagle, among other species. The bay is an 18 km stretch of estuary comprising four lakes linked by a network of channels well known for its sustainable, ancient fish traps passed down by generations of fishermen in the local community.

The angler, who did not want to be named, said he had been visiting Kosi Bay for 30 years and had seen a dramatic increase in the use of gillnets. He said while he was with his grandson on Lake Kuhlange during a family holiday last month, people from another boat called him for help.

“When I got to them, they had already had half of the gillnet on their boat and they were still pulling,” the angler said. The fisherman said they decided to cut the net into two pieces and he began pulling the other piece onto his boat. He estimated that the length of the net was 2.2km.

“The day before, the anti-poaching unit pulled one out on the left side of the lake and it was also about 2km in length.

“The next day we went snorkelling in the little blind channel, which we do every year, and we dived in and we found another gillnet,” he said. He said he suspected that the large net had been laid the night before, because nothing was trapped, while a smaller net had small fish and a big lizard, which they had to rescue. The angler said in the past they found the odd small primitive net. However, gillnets had recently increased in size and quality.

“I’ve seen hundreds of gillnets in my life and the quality of the two nets that came out in that week were machine-made.

“The net is definitely being deployed by a proper boat and not canoes,” he said.

“I think if nothing is done very urgently, Kosi Bay as a system will become like the estuaries in Mozambique, which are absolutely barren.”

The angler was also concerned that the area’s traditional kraal fishermen would not be able to survive if the fish were depleted.

“The Kosi system is one-of-a-kind in the world and the fish kraals have been there for hundreds of years.

“They are not going to survive because they rely on the natural flow of fish in and out of the system. Kosi is under serious threat,” he said.

Isimangaliso spokesperson Bheki Manzini said Kosi Bay was a world heritage site because of its outstanding universal values. Manzini said the gillnets issue was continuously being monitored as part of the management of the park.

“The major impact of gillnets is that they catch all marine life, even juvenile fish, thus destroying future growth of that species and risking an ecosystem imbalance,” he said. He said measures were in place to enforce relevant legislation prohibiting the use of gillnets in the park.

“These measures are implemented in partnership with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and other stakeholders, including the community.” He said the communities surrounding the park were also educated regularly about the negative impact of gillnetting.

“Gillnetting is an offence. We arrest the persons involved and open a case with the SAPS, which may lead to a jail sentence or a fine,” added Manzini.

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries said Kosi Bay accounted for the largest amount of the 2267 tons of fish caught by illegal gillnetting each year in estuaries in the country. Spokesperson Zolile Nqayi said 1091 tons of fish were illegally caught in Kosi Bay each year which accounted for 44% of illegal gillnetting.

“At any one time there’s an average of 2.6 gillnets, each 107 m long, in KZN estuaries,” said Nqayi.