OUR oceans are a critical source of food and every year feed more than a billion people.
Almost 1 in 10 people around the world rely on fishing and fishing-related activities for their livelihoods.
Yet both locally and globally, we are not doing enough to look after this incredibly valued asset.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, most of the world’s major fisheries are being fished at levels above their maximum sustainable level with a number of fish stocks completely depleted.
And in Zululand, where a large number of small-scale fisheries are operational in line with legislation, we are not immune to this ‘bleeding’ of our oceans.
Last week’s sentencing of a Chinese national in Zululand for being in possession of excessive numbers of recreational and illegal species has exposed just one of the many organised, systematic and indiscriminate syndicates.
No one can argue that the illegal trade is being fuelled by a lack of subsistence fishing opportunities in Zululand – but this is poaching on a large commercial scale.
The criminal element is merely driven by greed, with gill nets used to haul in any size, amount and species – making a mockery of the current bag limits adhered to by recreational anglers.
In 2009, illegal fishing in South African waters accounted for R6-billion and that figure has undeniably escalated in the past six years.
We have to increase our efforts to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing which are serious crimes.
If not, the current scenario poses a huge threat to the permanent collapse of our resources for generations to come.
