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D.C.

SA’s fish stocks on brink of extinction

DC.

SOUTH Africa has promulgated emergency regulations to curb linefishing because stocks of some of the most popular species have sunk so low that they are unlikely to recover without a complete ban. Conservationists are also battling to save South Africa's unique abalone shellfish species following loss to a decade of poaching by local gangs who police believe supply Southeast Asian cartels.

A moratorium has been placed on fishing the white steenbras and the 74 - while the number of fish of 16 other species anglers are allowed to catch has been slashed, generally by 80%. The 74 - which is only found off South Africa and Mozambique - has been fished to near extinction, with breeding stock levels lower than four percent. In the case of white steenbras - which disappeared off menus this week - only six percent of the breeding stock is left.

Some commercial fishermen will also lose their licences when further regulations are promulgated next year, said scientist Steve Lamberth from the department of environmental affairs' Marine and Coastal Management. The 18 linefish species concerned have been all been classified as "collapsed" which means that less than 25% of the species' original breeding stock is left, Lamberth explained. These include the Cape salmon, red roman, red steenbras and several species of cod. Most of the species are indigenous to South African waters.

A recent study by the University of Cape Town's marine biology research institute has found that catch rates of many species in South African waters had declined by more than 90% over the past century. Fish stocks have plummeted since the 1950s as a result of population growth, better fishing equipment and an increase in the number of fishermen. South Africa has 18 500 licenced commercial fishermen, 12 000 recreational fishermen, 412 000 shore-anglers and some 7 000 spear fisherman.

"It is just too many fishermen. The stocks have been hammered," Lamberth said, adding that the fish had also become smaller. Lamberth said that to date South Africa had not seen any marine species become extinct but scientists feared it could be matter of time. Subsistence fishermen will not lose their licences, but the government will target the large number of people who have other jobs and fish commercially at weekends. A protected area off Betty's Bay, 100km southeast of Cape Town, has been completely stripped of abalone, and the abalone resources in nearby Hermanus and Hawston have all but disappeared. - AFP

Hout Bay  River's estuary was probably once a significant contributor to the Bay's fish stocks and to a lesser extent it probably still is. Over the years, previous administrations have sytematically breached the beach sandbar to stopt flooding in the wetlands above princess bridge . This very dangerous practice, akin to King Cnute's folly in expecting the sea to go back in Britain's East Anglia, is not sustainable. The sea level will rise significantly, in spite of what our Megacity may decree in the next 100 years, so we may as well accept it. The spin off could be substantial in terms of how the fish nursery could become a significant factor in restoring the fish stocks in the Bay. This brings into question the validity of development decisions which impact on our river and which hitherto our shortsighted SPM Planners have agreed to.

The CMC recently distributed an excellent  guideline document for municipal planners in flood prone areas. One of the SPM's talented engineers was involved in drawing up the guidelines based on good sound experience and research. However, one week before the guidelines were adopted by the Council, the SPM's Director of Urban and environmental planning blatantly ignored the guidelines, with which he was fully familiar, to pursuade the Council to allow a local developer to to build an extensive riverside retail development within 5m of the centre line of a river for which the guidelines clearly require 15 or more metres.

As the owner and his family have a long-standing association with fishing, the basis on which their company is based, it would seem fitting that they should have some concern about dwindling fish stocks caused by overexploitation and the destruction of wetlands and estuaries.