KZN fishing in serious trouble

[Tommo]

I went for a walk on the beach this afternoon in front of my place with my wife and the dogs, and was thinking about how bad the fishing has got down on the KZN coast. In days gone by I wouldn't have dreamt of walking on the beach with a rod in my hand to have a few throws. Now I know it is totally futile, as the chances of catching anything are almost zero.
Growing up on the South coast we would go wet a line in the afternoons and catch stumpnose, pompano, kob, spadefish, grunter, Bronze bream, shad etc. Very seldom did we not catch some decent edibles. Nowadays those species are seldom seen coming in on the beaches, the guys have given up on fishing for them and mostly fish for sharks and flatfish on this part of the coast. Apart from migratory species such as shad, garrick and the odd kingie etc that come during the annual sardine run, KZN has become a desert in terms of edible fish.
I was thinking abou the reasons for our fishing having deteriorated this fast and this badly and I think there are three major factors that have caused this.

1. Our rivers along the South coast have all been terribly silted up. Not more than 20 to 30 years ago many of these rivers still ran deep and there was a lot of fish movement in and out of them. Especially some of the bigger rivers such as the Umkomaas and Umzimkulu. These were important nursery areas for a number of edible fish species and without them it must have a knock on effect on the ecology of the area. There are now virtually no viable fish nursery estuaries along the KZN coast. The blame for this lies in the farmers upstream on all the coastal rivers, who have ploughed right to the river banks and done the same on all the little tributaries and feeder streams. The run off from the farms during the rains has choked the rivers to the point that they can never recover. The Sugar farmers are the main culprits.

2. The shark nets and drum lines. I truly believe that what the Natal Sharks Board has done to our marine ecology in the past 30 years or so has had a massive effect. They have basically all but wiped out the larger sharks along the KZN coastline, using a system of large gill nets at every swimming beach. Yes that is what shark nets are, they are not barriers to keep sharks out, they are gill ets, designed to catch and kill large sharks and doing a lot of damage to other marine life at the same time. They have added to this in recent years, by putting in drum lines to kill even more big sharks.
The big sharks prey on the smaller shsarks, keeping their numbers in control. Right now there is an infestation of small sharks in KZN waters, which prey heavily on the bony fish (edibles). In fact in many places it is almost impossible to land a fish from a ski-boat without being taxed. This skewing in the marine ecology, by removing most apex predators has had a massive effect on the bony fish population of KZN.

3. Overfishing. The pressure on fish stocks in KZN from fishermen (commercial, subsistance and recreational) over the last 20 -30 years has been enormous. From the guys fishing the beaches and rocks, to the paddle ski fishemen, spearfishermen and ski boat fishermen. Many of these users sell their catch to supplement their income or keep their catch to eat at home. The fish population on the KZN coastline cannot sustain itself under the sort of fishing pressure that it has been subjected to, as well as the commercial fishing legal and illegal that is taking place. Particularly in light of the first two points. KZN seems to have the highest density of rods per kilometre of beach of any part of the South African coastline, and the least fish....

Those are my thoughts on the situation. I am sure that there are many other factors that contribute to the problem as well, but to my mind these are the three biggest issues. I am not sure where the solution lies, and even whether there is a solution. But thought that it makes an interesting topic for conversation and would like to hear other people's opinions, suggestions etc. 

The rivers would need to be dredged and rehabilitated, including the banks of the small feeder streams and watercourses in order to get them viable as fish nursey areas again. Who would pay for this expensive excersize? Not the Sugar association or the farmers, I am sure. The sharks board would have to cease all its large shark killing activities, which would impact heavily on tourism and therefore profits of many businesses in KZN. The beach driving ban has helped, in that it has rendered certain areas "inaccessable", creating in effect some marine sanctuaries along our coastline, where fish stocks are able to recover now that the fishing pressure is off.

Any ideas guys?

[Ziggy]

Tommo

Your three points are spot on! Just compare fishing in the transkei coast - beautiful estuaries for fish to breed, no shark nets and low impact fishing from local people (fish is not a favoured diet) - and the seas a re not conducive to trawlers coming too close to shore.

I think its near impossible to turn KZN south coast around - you would never get cooperation from sugar farmers - nor would you be able to control illegal fishing.

What you did leave out is the pollution that flows into the sea - via the Umgeni river, Durban habour, SAICCOR at Umkomaas etc etc....again, the transkei cost does not have this problem. Funny that the only real breeding ground left is actually Durban harbour!

We must also bear in mind that recreational fishermen are also guilty of killing off fish stocks - Every time I go fishing I see undersized fish and catches far exceeding  bag limits - especailly the shad season...and you know that it is not  easy (and probably not effective) to confront anglers. Ski boat fishermen (recreational) also sell their catch illegally. I know that commercials and illegal trawlers do more damage - but every transgression - no matter how small  - makes an impact.

I have been going to Elysium for the past 30 years - and have seen the reduction in any decent catches (now I only fish for shad in season  - and catch and release blacktail off the rocks for fun) - I have given up trying for anything else. The family has had a place there since way before we were born have pictures of fantastic fish caught there - and large boats navigating the mtwalume river (which now is a mere wading depth). Even 30 years ago I used to like fishing the mouth for perch and kingies - no such thing now!

Tommo - my feeling is that its all over - the ballies who used to fish like there was no tomorrow - did not realise that tomorrow would come so soon!

What we should focus on right now is ensuring that the areas that are still "OK" are not further degraded....how to do that is another question of course


 

[Ziggy]

Some informational links on the issue

lets not forget the impact of the closed St Lucia mouth - see http://www.sasaa.co.za/sasaaftp/stumpystlucia.pdf - purely due to bad farming practice, global warming - and of course human intervention!

see recerational angler patterns in KZN - they mainly fish in the shad season  - see page one of http://www.ori.org.za/files/oriclenewsletter50.pdf

Heavy harvesting of the Durban Metropolitan                     Area's (DMA) marine resources over many years has reduced the                     size of the stock of economically valuable                     species available for harvest. This, in turn, has reduced the value                     of the commercial and recreational fishing                     opportunities. - see http://www.ceroi.net/reports/durban/issues/marine/impact.htm

South Africa's coastal and marine resources are under considerable  threat and are already severely degraded in many areas due to  over-harvesting and urban/industrial development. see this, its quite interesting: National State of the Environment Report: Marine and Coastal Sytems and resources -    http://www.ngo.grida.no/soesa/nsoer/issues/coast/index.htm


See also - Marine Life of Southern Africa: http://www.enviropaedia.com/topic/default.php?topic_id=156

Some suggestions inWESSA POLICY ON MARINE RESOURCES http://www.wessa.org.za/index.php/Policies/Marine-Resources.html

see also a report by the United Nations Development Programme on Southern Africa and coastal and marine environments - http://www.eoearth.org/article/Southern_Africa_and_coastal_and_marine_environments


 

[MIKE PIKE]

Agreed Tommo and Ziggy , the fish stocks could and have not coped with the points you mentioned and would take years to recover to its former glory ,which i doubt we will see + its a monumental task to control/ police the rules and regs enforced to sustain the fish stocks, inaccesible and remote spots are the only places that still produce good catches , but for how long ? with the current economics and climate everything is driven by financial gain /exploitation with scant regard to the long term effects on sustainability , bit of a grim picture.. :sadd  i fish at the most twice a year and savouir every moment and catch at the coast whether it be edible or non-ed.... and soon it will all be gone , even remote /pristine locations such as Kosi and the lake system have taken a hammering, very sad indeed.

[Capt. Hook]

100% Tommo, and they are looking in the wrong places to find a solution. The estuaries are in a sad state.

What to do?????????

[CID]

Tommo, I agree with you 100%. I grew up fishing the south coast. I returned to DBN in JAn this year and the only fish that I have caught are shad. Even the blacktails and other resident fish have dissapeared.

No rockcod, stumpies,etc.

Something is seriously not lekker. Even the sharks that you once caught at toti and scotsbburgh are no longer. I fished errol hayes last weekend, two fresh baits on slide out ofr 2hrs each  and bait came back untouched, not even peckers. Scratched around for edibles, nothing!

Looks like im gonna have to start fishing the ballito area in future cause the south coast is a graveyard. With so much of reef and rock structure, its hard to acept that most of the fish have dissapeared. The reason you mentioned are most probably the cause of this problem.

[MIKE PIKE]

A temporary ban on estuary fishing... !!! but how do you do that with out invoking the wrath of the masses.. ??   .

[Capt. Hook]

A temporary ban on estuary fishing... !!! but how do you do that with out invoking the wrath of the masses.. ??   .

No, a permanent ban on bad farming practices, plus all teh farmers to fix the problem. Sharks board to be closed.

[Ziggy]

A temporary ban on estuary fishing... !!! but how do you do that with out invoking the wrath of the masses.. ??   .

not too difficult to implement seeing that there are no fish in the estuaries anyway!

[MIKE PIKE]

Agreed Mike, + some serious opening up of the river systems either by natural causes or mechanical means .

[Capt. Hook]

Agreed Mike, + some serious opening up of the river systems either by natural causes or mechanical means .

If they opened up the systems it will make a huge difference.

[Ziggy]

Change the farmers????? Not when it affects their profits! And, mechanically opening the rivers will still pose huge challenges for the fish to re-establish their breeding grounds - the centuries that it took to build up the ecology of the rivers cant be brought back in an instant. And, are the fish stocks there to re-establish the estuaries?

Unfortunately - the establishment of marine reserves is the only logical solution right now - and that affects us directly. Lokk at Mkambati - the fishing there has been restricted since the reserve was created - you cant fish Mtentu any more either (not that I think its wrong to create the reserves - its just that I (rightfully) cant fish there anymore!)

So to catch fish I have go to the mountains to catch free run trout in the rivers - but not for long becasue trout are alien and soon to be removed from many rivers...


I wish I was born 300 years ago, lived on the shores of Durban bay - and had the equipment that I have today....what a blissful dream!

[Tommo]

As Ziggy pointed out, it is easier to look after the rivers that are currently productive (Eastern Cape) and halt the issues that have created this mess in KZN, than to rehabilitate already hammered rivers.
That said, I would like to see something done. It really burns me up that this has been allowed to get this far.

The main issue with the estuaries is water depth at the mouth area. If we look at the only two really productive, functioning estuarine systems in KZN, they are both seriously polluted and a mess in most other ways. I am referring to Durban Harbour and Richard's Bay harbour. The thing that sets them apart is the fact that their mouths are kept deep by dredging. The fish put up with the noise, disturbance and pollution, as long as they have deep water entry and exit points.
I am very worried about many of the (former) Transkei rivers, which are also silting up. They are otherwise in fairly pristine condition, but their mouths are getting shallower and choked up. Not due to organised farming, but erosion caused by overgrazing and deforestation by local people and their livestock on the river banks and the small watercourses feeding into those rivers. Many of them no longer produce the decent kob, garrick and skipjack that they did in the past, and I firmly believe that it is due to the mouths getting too shallow to allow free movement of larger fish into and out of these systems.
The rivers can be rehabilitated, but it is a lot of work and a costly excersize. The short rivers would be easier to sort out, as they have smaller catchment and inflow areas to rehabilitate. Many of our short rivers were some of the best fishing rivers along our coast, particularly those Transkei rivers. There is no point dredging a river mouth if it is just going to fill up again, the cause of the problem needs to be addressed, or the dredging will be a continuous job.

As for the Sharks Board... I really don't see that they can still be operating, it is an absolute shocker. 1950's ideas still being implemented, with no thought to the consequences!

[MIKE PIKE]

Does anyone have any idea on the rivers/ estuarine systems in the Eastern cape ?? or have they also silted up badly over the years.. reason i ask is i used to fish in the Bigha river and Greatfish river a youngster and they were all open and flowing strongly and the fishing was excellent.   

[Ski Scout]

arn't majority of the sugar farms onwned by the suger producers ? Most of the farmers are just mangers.

If this is so , then lets tackle the sugar producers , let them life up to their social responsibility!!!

But be prepared to pay extra for the sweet stuff

[Ziggy]

another way is to boycott sugar until they change their practices - but, too many sweet tooth people out there who also just dont care

Seriously, its a near impossible task to regenerate the wetlands where sugar has been planted and to dredge out the rivers - and then get a proper ecosystem going again and attract the fish back again (especially since there are NO fish to attract)....we would not see the results in our life time

However, the first world has regenerated rivers - for example the Thames is now populated with fish again - they stopped pollution in the river (well, almost) and fixed up a lot of things.

I once fished a trout stream (Big Battle Creek) near Camp David in Washington DC that had been regenerated- it was a cesspool before. But, with careful planning and a lot of money it now looks pristine and has many trout in it - I caught this there:

[sea sick]

so what can i say/ add to what has already been said.

Not gonna be negative, just hope that something will be done. Forget about the tourists. Fokus on the country. Some people stand to loose lots of money.................
Ss

[Skaap Tjop]

Very interesting topic

There is no short term solution that I can think of. In terms of educating recreational fisherman, its come a long way the past few years with catch and relese being promoted by clubs, tv programs and Jan alleman ect. you will always get the people that take more than their bag limit and undersize fish, as long as their are regulations on the size and limits and officials that can implement them, there is not much more that you can do. On the sharks board I cant really comment as I do not know the implication it has on our fishing stocks. The river systems or nursing areas for me is the only real solution to the problem in the long run. If it can be proven that by opening the rivers and one can get the involvement of the goverment or local municipalty to participate in creating ideal breeding conditions it can go a long way to bring back the fish stocks to a respectable number in the future.

Unfortunately how one would get a project like that of the ground I dont know, but in my opinion its the best shot at restoring the stocks of our fish.

It is a good sign that some people are thinking and looking for solutions about the problem... You never know!

[Homie]

Guys,
This is a very important topic,
Lets throw some ideas together and come up with a strategy.
UA is behind this 100% !

[Ziggy]

Have you got any ideas to share Homie?