uMhlanga’s oysterman and his love for his trade

THERE’S a well-known oyster diver who frequents the beaches and rivers north of Durban who has become a friend to not only restaurants in the area but tourists, too.

Sibusiso Ndlovu, better known as S’bu, has been harvesting oysters in the area and further north for the past seven years, a skill he says his mother taught him.

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“I am actually a bookkeeper, but because jobs are so scarce, I found myself unemployed after completing my bookkeeping course. I decided to use a skill that was taught to me growing up, which is catching oysters. I would always be with my mother when she caught oysters, so it was something I always knew about,” he said.

Ndlovu even volunteered his bookkeeping services at a local hospital but was turned down. He fishes 365 days a year and depends on tides and weather to help him gain an income.

Ndlovu supplies restaurants along the promenade in uMhlanga and restaurants as far as eMdloti with fresh oysters on an almost daily basis, but he said recently, harvesting has not been as good as it was pre-Covid.

“Covid, the oil spill and then the opening and closing of the beaches has affected business in a negative way. I don’t have as many customers as I used to. But I try my best every day,” he said.

Prior to all the obstacles he mentioned above, Ndlovu would capture about 100 oysters a day every day of the week. This has since decreased to about 50 a day, three times a week.

“I was not the only one who would harvest oyster; there were other mamas, too, but they have also reported that business is not good these days,” he said.

Ndlovu said he rotates the areas in which he catches in every few days so as not to over-fish in one particular area.

“The oysters need time to grow. I take care of the environment because it also takes care of me,” he added.

Recently, Ndlovu said he was feeling down and out, but a tourist he met motivated him to keep doing what he loves doing. Karen Bouwer noticed that he had scratches and bruises on his arm as he only had one wet suit and it was a ‘shorty’ which did not cover his arms and legs.

“Karen said the next time she comes to uMhlanga, she will bring me a wet suit so I don’t get scratches, and she kept her promise. I was so grateful. It’s because of people like her that I keep going,” he said.

In the past seven years, Ndlovu has found three pearls in the oysters he harvested – a rare ocurrence.
“I sold one for R900,” he said.

Naturally, Ndlovu loves eating oysters as much as he likes diving for them. He would eat up to 30 a day at one stage, with a dash of Tabasco sauce.

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