A TIP-OFF from the public led to the recovery of a 600m gill net off the Casuarinas inside the Port of Richards Bay on Saturday.
‘We received a call on the marine anti-poaching hotline 083 3806298 around noon,’ said Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife District Conservation Officer, Frans Mthembu.
‘When I got there I could just see the two poles holding the net about 100 metres off the shore where the water is nearly two metres deep.’
Unable to reach the net, Mthembu signalled to the passing ski boat ‘Vaaltein’ and skipper Sean Koekemoer and his family had no hesitation in responding.
‘I had just brought my three boys up for the day from Durban where they are at school and they dived into the water, pulling up the net with great difficulty,’ said Sean.
The net was full of fish and after throwing back all that were still alive, the Chinese-manufactured net – believed to have been illegally smuggled from Mozambique – was taken to the Meerensee Boat Club.
While the contents showed the wide diversity of marine species in the harbour, it also revealed how deadly and indiscriminate the poachers are as all the content was under-sized.
This included milk sharks, sandfish, sole, kingfish, concertina fish, German bream, goatfish, banded galjoen, moonfish, spotted grunter, banana fish, stingray, cave bass and crabs.
‘Not only do these gill nets pose a major environmental threat, they can also cause boats to capsize if the motors get entangled,’ said Mthembu.
‘I want to thank the Koekemoer family for their ready assistance.
‘Thanks to them, this is one less net that will be used to annihilate our fish stocks.’
•Mthembu also urged caution after two adult hippos were seen in the Bay Hall and Mzingazi Canal above the Steel Bridge over the weekend.
‘They are extremely dangerous and should not be approached.’
