ECOSYSTEM THREAT: Gill nets galore in Kosi lakes, despite illegal fishing clampdown

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> The recent arrest of a Chinese shopkeeper and local residents in northern KwaZulu-Natal has revived concerns about illegal gill-netting and the steady decimation of fish populations in the Kosi Bay section of the iSimangaliso World Heritage Site.

Kosi Bay, a chain of four clear-water lakes on the border between KZN and southern Mozambique, is one of the most unspoiled lake and estuary systems in the country. Legally protected as a nature reserve since 1987, it also home to a rich variety of marine and freshwater fish that have been harvested in traditional fish traps by the local community for hundreds of years.

But population growth and rising unemployment levels in the surrounding region have increased pressure on the fish populations of the four lakes over recent decades, along with a steady increase in illegal gill-netting.

Over the past year alone, anti-poaching officers have removed nearly 300 gill nets from the lakes. With a combined length of almost 23km, this wall of nylon netting is long enough to stretch from Sandton City to Midrand, or from the Durban City Hall to Pinetown.

Unlike the traditional wood and reed fish traps that allow juvenile fish to escape, gill nets form a virtually impenetrable curtain of synthetic netting which targets fish indiscriminately – catching all species and all sizes of fish in large numbers.

Last month, in a joint operation involving nearly 60 police and other law enforcement officers, a supermarket owner and at least one local resident were arrested in the nearby town of eManguzi as part of a government clampdown on illegal fishing syndicates in the Kosi Bay area.

In response to queries from Daily Maverick about the arrest of several illegal fish syndicate suspects, the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) said it had “prioritised this issue for further investigation and targeted enforcement”.

“We can confirm that arrests were made but given that investigations are still ongoing, will not disclose further details at this stage.”

However, the department did confirm that at least two arrests following the recent operation involving the SA Police, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Border Management Agency, Customs Department and SA Defence Force.

One of the suspects, from KwaMahlungulu village, was arrested in the centre of eManguzi after he was found selling nearly 700 fish (including tilapia, stumpnose, catfish, and silver bream). They also confiscated three chest freezers and charged him for alleged offences under the Marine Living Resources Act.

“On the following day, a Chinese national, the owner and/or manager of One by One Supermarket in eManguzi, was issued with an admission of guilt fine of R5,000.