It’s action stations for the SA Navy, Fisheries Department and SA Police Services who are on the hunt for eight fleeing fishing trawlers suspected of plundering South African waters.
In a dramatic statement late yesterday, Bomikazi Molapo, spokesman for the department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff), confirmed that nine suspicious trawlers had been monitored off Durban, Port St John’s, and Cape Recife.
They were picked up on Thursday by South African patrol vessel Victoria Mxenge and told to move under escort to Saldanha Bay for proper inspection.
The vessels had “cooperated” – until nightfall.
“During the night these vessels started dispersing in different directions.
“This made it harder for our vessel to give chase,” Molapo said.
Victoria Mxenge, named after a tough Eastern Cape anti-apartheid activist, locked onto one of the vessels and captured and boarded it.
It was being escorted to Cape Town.
Molapo said Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula had instructed the SA Navy to assist with the chase.
The Western Cape police had also joined the operation and the Western Cape joint operations command centre (JOC) had been activated “to bring all the law enforcement stakeholders to deal with this situation and have already put in place an operational plan to inspect the vessel at 8am tomorrow upon its arrival at the Cape Town harbour,” he said.
Molapo also urged all South Africans to notify the department about suspicious vessels at sea.
“Please contact the department’s vessel monitoring operations room on (021)402-3077/3076.”
Outrage has been growing, with anglers alleging that a fleet of at least 28 Chinese trawlers were allegedly operating illegally off the Wild Coast.
Anglers with smart phones and ship-tracking apps have become the eyes, ears and mouths of public outrage over the arrival of the Lu Huang Yuan Yu fleet.
A Facebook post on Salt Fishing SA by Mark Hicks, which first blew the whistle on the Chinese vessels switching off their AIM monitoring beacons at night off the Wild Coast, was shared 6215 times by noon yesterday.
SA Navy spokesman Captain Zamo Sithole said yesterday: “The South African Navy has recently conducted operations in the Port Shepstone to Mazeppa Bay area, specifically to address illegal activities in this area.
“The South African National Defence Force is however always ready to provide support to Daff, if so requested.”
Daff spokeswoman Palesa Mokomela said their inshore protection vessel, the Ruth First, checked nine vessels and found them to be “brand new and en route from China to Congo”.
“Our inspectors inspected them and found no fish or fishing material.”
But recreational anglers were not buying it.
John Rance, environmental officer for the Border Deepsea Angling Association said: “No one is naively believing that.”
He said further investigations were being conducted and he commended the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) for getting involved behind the scenes.
The agency had not responded to questions at the time of writing yesterday.
On Thursday, at 10pm, Wild Coast resident Barry Sahd said he watched an alleged Chinese trawler slowly make its way towards Durban with it’s main floodlight illuminating the water behind the ship.
“I was watching it through the binoculars.
“It was a clear night and it was only 3km offshore,” he said.
Kevin Cole, principal scientist at the East London Museum, warned that there was a rising global demand for fish.
“This is driving the process reported in our coastal waters.”
While recreational anglers accused the Chinese trawlers of plundering the sardine run, Cole said illegal long-line commercial boats would be targeting larger fish which gathered to feed off the sardines.
These included yellow-fin tuna and broad-billed swordfish.
“This will have socio-economic impacts on the local SA fishery industry, as well as the ecology of the oceanic ecosystem,” said Cole. — mikel@dispatch.co.za
Forces join to hunt trawlers
It’s action stations for the SA Navy, Fisheries Department and SA Police Services who are on the hunt for eight fleeing fishing trawlers suspected of plundering South African waters.
In a dramatic statement late yesterday, Bomikazi Molapo, spokesman for the department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff), confirmed that nine suspicious trawlers had been monitored off Durban, Port St John’s, and Cape Recife.
They were picked up on Thursday by South African patrol vessel Victoria Mxenge and told to move under escort to Saldanha Bay for proper inspection.
The vessels had “cooperated” – until nightfall.
“During the night these vessels started dispersing in different directions.
“This made it harder for our vessel to give chase,” Molapo said.
Victoria Mxenge, named after a tough Eastern Cape anti-apartheid activist, locked onto one of the vessels and captured and boarded it.
It was being escorted to Cape Town.
Molapo said Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula had instructed the SA Navy to assist with the chase.
The Western Cape police had also joined the operation and the Western Cape joint operations command centre (JOC) had been activated “to bring all the law enforcement stakeholders to deal with this situation and have already put in place an operational plan to inspect the vessel at 8am tomorrow upon its arrival at the Cape Town harbour,” he said.
Molapo also urged all South Africans to notify the department about suspicious vessels at sea.
“Please contact the department’s vessel monitoring operations room on (021)402-3077/3076.”
Outrage has been growing, with anglers alleging that a fleet of at least 28 Chinese trawlers were allegedly operating illegally off the Wild Coast.
Anglers with smart phones and ship-tracking apps have become the eyes, ears and mouths of public outrage over the arrival of the Lu Huang Yuan Yu fleet.
A Facebook post on Salt Fishing SA by Mark Hicks, which first blew the whistle on the Chinese vessels switching off their AIM monitoring beacons at night off the Wild Coast, was shared 6215 times by noon yesterday.
SA Navy spokesman Captain Zamo Sithole said yesterday: “The South African Navy has recently conducted operations in the Port Shepstone to Mazeppa Bay area, specifically to address illegal activities in this area.
“The South African National Defence Force is however always ready to provide support to Daff, if so requested.”
Daff spokeswoman Palesa Mokomela said their inshore protection vessel, the Ruth First, checked nine vessels and found them to be “brand new and en route from China to Congo”.
“Our inspectors inspected them and found no fish or fishing material.”
But recreational anglers were not buying it.
John Rance, environmental officer for the Border Deepsea Angling Association said: “No one is naively believing that.”
He said further investigations were being conducted and he commended the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) for getting involved behind the scenes.
The agency had not responded to questions at the time of writing yesterday.
On Thursday, at 10pm, Wild Coast resident Barry Sahd said he watched an alleged Chinese trawler slowly make its way towards Durban with it’s main floodlight illuminating the water behind the ship.
“I was watching it through the binoculars.
“It was a clear night and it was only 3km offshore,” he said.
Kevin Cole, principal scientist at the East London Museum, warned that there was a rising global demand for fish.
“This is driving the process reported in our coastal waters.”
While recreational anglers accused the Chinese trawlers of plundering the sardine run, Cole said illegal long-line commercial boats would be targeting larger fish which gathered to feed off the sardines.
These included yellow-fin tuna and broad-billed swordfish.
“This will have socio-economic impacts on the local SA fishery industry, as well as the ecology of the oceanic ecosystem,” said Cole. — mikel@dispatch.co.za
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