Coast KZN

State of the Coast: KZN
State of the Coast: KZN

State of the Coast: KwaZulu-Natal Chapter 1: Introduction & Background Chapter 2: Overarching Drivers Chapter 3: Climate Variability
Chapter 4: Coastal Environment Chapter 5: Estuarine Environment Chapter 6: Marine Environment Chapter 7: Human Environment Chapter 8: Economic Environment
Chapter 9: Governance Environment Chapter 10: Conclusions
The Profile of the KZN Coast
The Profile of the KZN Coast

Ugu Lwethu- Our Coast Defining the Coastal Zone The Physical and Coastal Environment Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
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Estuaries

What is an Estuary? Know your Estuaries Estuary Health and Conservation KZN Estuary Observer Programme
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Recreation

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Coastal risk and vulnerability

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Coastal issues

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17 Dec 2019

Rise in illegal fishing in KZN rivers and dams

Se-Anne Rall (The Mercury, IOL) Picture: Officials with nets that were recovered from Inanda Dam.

Durban – Illegal gillnetting in rivers and estuaries is a huge escalating problem in South Africa, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, over the past three years. An estimated total of 3 730 tons of fish are caught in SA estuaries annually of which 2 267 tons are caught by illegal gillnetting.

This is according to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries spokesperson, Zolile Nqayi, they are collaborating with various environmental organisations to quantify the extent of this problem in estuaries and the sea and the impact that gillnetting is having.

“Where possible, all confiscated catches, gillnets and other gear are identified and measured. This information is fed back to law enforcement agencies for their records and to aid in planning and investigations. At any one time there’s an average of two gillnets, each 107m long in KZN estuaries. In the last 30 months, there has been at least 600 tons of increased gillnet landings in KZN. The impact on fish and invertebrates is massive,” Nqayi said.

An official from a Durban-based environmental group referred to gillnets as “curtains of death”. The official who spoke on the basis of anonymity said often times, smaller fish were being caught in gillnets, furthermore pregnant female fish were being caught in nets meaning hundreds of other fish could be born if their mother died.

In recent operations, seven gill nets, over 2000-meters long collectively, were pulled from the Inanda Dam by members of the SAPS and Metro Police Search and Rescue units. Officers, accompanied by rangers, also recovered two cellphones, several knives, a pellet gun during the operation. The items were handed over to the Hillcrest SAPS for further investigation. The operation came just weeks after several similar nets were pulled from the Beachwood Mangroves at the uMngeni River.

 

Online Article