AN illegal gill net was seized from the uMhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve on Thursday evening. The nets often referred to as the ‘Curtains of Death’ can contain anything from 30 to 50 fish, including crabs and sometimes bird life.
Unlike cast nets, which are thrown in the water by hand and capture fish inside the net’s mesh, gillnets are set out stationary in the water and capture the fish by entanglement.
According to Cara Reilly of the uMhlanga Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP), members of the Department of Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries (DAFF) confiscated one of the nets found in the lagoon.
Read also: ‘Curtains of Death’ destroying local fish populations
“The team were led by Dino Govender and they found a large gillnet with an array of fish already caught in it. The team released the fish unharmed and removed the gillnet which is in the process of being destroyed. While four suspects were questioned they were not caught at the scene with the net so could not be arrested.
“These members of DAFF and the team at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife have been playing an active roll in enforcing fishing laws and bylaws, with this being the second gillnet removed and destroyed from the area in the last two weeks,” she explained.
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