Court supports eMdloti’s fishing ban

EFFORTS by a online non-profit club, KZN Fishing.com, to have the fishing ban in eMdloti lifted have failed.This after Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel dismissed the group’s court application to have the signs prohibiting fishing along certain areas along the beach removed earlier this month. The court order had been brought against the eMdloti Beach Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association and the municipality.

Current regulations prohibit fishermen from fishing at the tidal pool as well as the stretch of beach across South Beach Road (from 1st Avenue to Sixth Street).

For years, the club, which represents thousands of recreational fishermen, has disputed the existence of any by-laws prohibiting fishing in eMdloti, and argued that the municipality did not have the authority to erect the signs.
Although the city was unable to produce any proof of these by-laws it did submit a number of documents and affidavits which made reference to these by-laws, said Councillor Geoff Pullan.

“The judge decided that the references to the by-laws were good enough to uphold the current fishing restrictions,” he said.

Jace Naidoo, a management member of the online group, said the club would respect the judge’s decision and abide by the regulations. However, he said that the club still felt frustrated and disappointed as their primary query had still not been answered – why the ban had been implemented.

“Since day one we have asked for a reason behind the ban, but to date there has been no response and the question will most likely go unanswered,” he said.

“As citizens I believe that we have the right to know the reasoning behind the ban. Once a person understands the logic and reasoning behind a law or regulation it becomes easy to implement and work with the authorities. If there was a particular species or area that’s in danger we want to know about it. We want to work with the municipality to protect our environment,” he said.

Terry Rens of the eMdloti Urban Improvement Precinct said she was in support of the ban as it not only fosters conservation but also protects the bathers. “Many fishermen aren’t responsible, and we often deal with cases where fishing hooks get caught in children’s feet or dogs swallow the hooks from bait left on the beach. Ultimately, eMdloti is a tourist beach and we have to protect the bathers,” she said.

A local fisherman, Krist Padayachee, echoed Rens’s sentiments saying, “I support the ban. There are many fishermen who abuse the beach. They don’t stick to the fishing regulations and don’t clean up after themselves,” he said.

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