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Almost half a million abalone and crayfish have been poached in the Overstrand region of the Western Cape the last half decade. The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, revealed these shocking numbers in answer to a parliamentary question from the DA.

Over the past five years alone 441 847 abalone, 15 089 crayfish tails and 8 301 whole crayfish have been confiscated during police operations in the important marine ecosystems of Gansbaai, Hangklip, Pringle Bay, Hawston, Kleinmond and Hermanus. The confiscated stock is auctioned back to the public by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DFFE) to raise funds.

What is truly frightening is that these statistics only scratch the surface of the real numbers of poached abalone and crayfish.

The DFFE is not doing enough to manage and monitor the poaching of these two species and the recent DFFE budget has confirmed that there will in fact be a reduction in the number of staff dedicated to anti-poaching programs along the South African coastline.

The DFFE appears to have effectively given up on combating the poaching of abalone and crayfish. The Department’s current strategy seems to be to simply allow these species to die off completely in the hope that this will ameliorate the associated issues relating to smuggling, gangs and drugs.

It has become crystal clear that the ANC government cannot properly manage issues relating to the oceans on its own. The DA reiterates our call to devolve responsibility for fishing and the protection of marine resources to competent local authorities such as those in the DA-run Western Cape.

Issued by Dave Bryant MP - DA Shadow Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries