SEINE NETTERS AND CATCHERS

[RobinF]

Just remember that this is only one website. We are probably at the most 5% of the conservation minded citizens out there. A lot are far more fanatical and would probably throw rocks at us for fishing. If this explodes, they'll be drawn into this and I am certain the wave of voices will overwhelm these guys abusing the system. It will be a very slippery slope to oblivion for them if it comes to that. 

[Marthin]

Photographs, local papers etc.... nobody can threaten you with a firearm just willy nilly, then you go from there and open a case of attempted murder to start with..........

IF they aren't allowed bycatch of garrick they have to release them as the trekkers have to do with the steenies.  end of story.  I think JB2 is a member on this site, send him a message to participate on this thread.

I've also had an issue with the engines for durban... our chaps here have to row, and pull in the net by hand.  2 drowned about a year ago.... it's by no means  an easy income.

[RobinF]

This whole issue of 'it's their livelihood' really drew me to a conclusion. If I was in an industry that meant food or no food for my family, I would protect that industry and do what was right to paint a 'pretty' picture. If these guys nationally, don't manage each other, then they are failing to protect their livelihood themselves and can only blame themselves if a few others spoil it. Their unwillingness to set up a management structure and police their industry is forcing others to do so and thus, they will all pay the price for the likes of these guys in Durban. It is unfair, because there may well be a few that manage their catches for the future.

[Shaun17]

All, please see below Newsbreak which DSCB will be issuing shortly... i trust this clears up any misconceptions about the "relationship" between the Seine Netters and DSBC.
 
 
 
NEWSBREAK
SEINE NETTERS--------22/11/2012
I have attached two communications that arrived in my mail a few days ago-----one is from Robin Flood who lives in Cape Town and is not a member. The other is from Shaun Howard who is a member and lives / works in Dubai
Both make disturbing reading!
(A)
There is talk on various forums that the DSBC accommodates or has an involvement with these Seine Netters. There is also discussion about them having netted 55 Garrick the one week and 80 the previous? If you could assist with advising if the DSBC is affiliated to these guys in any way it would help as the general perception is that your club is affiliated to them.  Also, who is the appropriate person/s department or authority to contact regarding action against this plundering?
Regards
Robin Flood
(B)
I’m a member of the Durban Skiboat Club and have been for a few years now. Although I don’t get to fish as much as I’d like to with me working overseas, I can honestly say I have to have a bad experience at the club, not a single one. Most recently I took part in the Overs vs Unders competition and had an awesome day – I did see you there but didn’t want to impose.
Something which is causing me concern (perhaps because I’m not familiar with their history and their association with our Club) is the constant reports of the Seine Netters who are catching vast amounts of Shad out of season, not to mention the huge haul of Garrick caught last week, with none released. This is unfortunately receiving a lot of attention on social networks and fishing forums.
Would it be possible to help me understand why the DSBC accommodates the Seine Netters? All they do is give us a bad name and destroy local fish stocks. Going forward, are there plans for them to remain associated to our Club?
I apologise for my ignorance, but just really feel aggrieved by the Seine Netters lack of consideration for sustainable & responsible fishing.
Shaun Howard

Apparently the incident of these Garrick and other species being caught by the seine netters has travelled far and wide through various angling sites, and social media such as face book twitter etc.
Regrettably our Club has been linked to this plunder which as we all know is nonsense. However it is a reality that perceptions are often seen as the truth.
We have decided it is important that we correct any perceptions and the following is what we have put out as a “press release”.

Following the receipt of correspondence linking the Durban Ski Boat Club to the activities of the seine netters that are based within the premises of the Durban Ski Boat Club the following should be noted.
1. The (the seine netters) location is purely historic, and in no way are they linked to the activities of the DSBC. They have occupied that site for as long as the DSBC has existed, and being so close to the DSBC ground area people assume they are part of the DSBC. This is not so and cannot be further from the truth.
2. They do not own the land they are on and neither do they have a lease. The same applies to our Club.
3. Going forward, and with the planned development of the Point precinct they will be accommodated within the general area. We have insisted that they will not be geographically linked to our future location. This has been agreed.
4. We do not support or condone any of their activities that are not within the constraints of their license conditions. This principle applies to any visitor or member that uses Vetch’s as a launch site.
By example they started night fishing, and also using a rubber duck with outboard engine to spread their nets. Both activities were stopped by the authorities.
5. Historically we have helped launch and retrieve their banana boats using a club tractor. Of late they have built their own beach trailer in order to protect the bottom of their craft when dragged along the beach. This they now pull with their own Landrover.

We hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

 

[Chigger]

Thanks Shaun17 for shedding some light on the story. The spot light is now well and truly on!

[Shaun17]

Thanks must go to everyone who raises these issues and continues to raise them, but also to Hilton and the DSBC Committee for acting on this.
 
FYI - I did ask for permission from Hilton before posting the Newsbreak 

[PH]

Thanks Shaun.
This is an old, old problem that has been discussed numerous times at the DBN Paddle Ski Club and elsewhere.
When they pull in the nets, we've seen members public jumping in and try to release 50mm fish from the nets before they die.

[CLS]

Thanks Shaun and Hilton for clearing that up. We need to keep an eye open now.

[CLS]

I am not fishing tomorrow so will take a drive down and have a look see, they normally pull after a strong East

[RobinF]

The best way to deal with this is proof. The authorities will repeatedly say "give us the proof". I am dumbfounded why the public sees these acts happening and the authorities don't. This is obviously a major problem and the authorities know it. Why don't they have inspectors that do their job properly, that check the catch on regular basis?

So essentially, by slaughtering these Garrick this guy has stood solidly on his chop. This is soooo far from over. I think so many people have had ENOUGH of this constant slaughtering of protected resources. This particular 'Netter' has been in hot water a lot, his track record of his flagrant and outright disregard for the law speaks for itself. This is not about livelihood, not anymore. If it was, he would protect that livelihood. For so many, this is becoming personal.

His biggest problem is that people saw the Garrick he slaughtered. You see, he is a creature of habit, he cannot obey the law, he consistantley breaks it. He is consumed by his own selfish greed and when he finally has his lic revoked, he'll cry race, . He has so much money and his workers live in absolute poverty, it's sad. Does he pay them so little because of race? Did he kill the Garrick because of race? Did he massacre the snoek because of race? Did he start night fishing illegally because of race?

And when people do stand up, they get threatening calls etc. I actually feel left out, no one has called me yet......

[PH]

This is not about livelihood, not anymore. If it was, he would protect that livelihood.

Rumour has it that he drives a very expensive luxury German car 

[RobinF]

He does, it's not a rumour. It's a fact.

[CLS]

RobinF you are really Peeed off, I will chat to the tractor drivers to be my eyes.
 

[REEFMAN]

Robin ....  for your stance on the issue.  is behind you 100%.

[CLS]

Went down to the club at 05h30, the East was pumping into the base and the netters didn't launch.

[RobinF]

You know CLS, I'm not so Pee-ed of as I am determined. Being Pee-ed off would imply that I'll get over it. That's not going to happen. You see, there are certain frameworks in place that these activities must operate within. On this occasion, these guys hit a very sensitive spot for me, the Garrick. It caught my undivided attention because of this:

In Winter, these protected fish migrate to KZN waters to spawn the next generation and they try to secure the future of their species. In Spring and Summer, they move south toward the Eastern Cape and through to the Western Cape. Every year, we see (In the Eastern and Western Cape) a continual decline in these fish. Granted that this is a slower decline than many years before, but that is due to the beach ban on vehicles and responsible angling where guys respect the resource and return the fish. So my point is that along come these netters and scooped up an entire breeding shoal or two (Needless to say that they are not allowed to keep Garrick, it is illegal for them to keep those fish). Effectively, they killed on a larger scale a good 5000 Garrick in one swipe. They destroyed the schoal/s and the future fish that they would have produced. If they were allowed to catch Garrick, my argument would be with Marine Coastal Management, not the Netters. But here we have a character that has a history of breaking the law and showing all of us, that's right, not just the law, but ALL OF US (ALL OF YOU) the middle finger.

Next time you go out on a good day to fish and catch nothing or only tiny specimens, you foresake the right to complain if you don't say something about this raping of our resources.

So, the framework I mention above is in place and that framework is obligated to answer questions related to these catchs. So each and every part of that framework will hear from me and I won't stop until they explain why these guys did what they did and why they are getting away with it. Now, this statement MAY have a touch of ignorance in it in that I have not addressed this with these parties yet and something may already be happening (Although I doubt it). This thread is going to be alive for a long time to come as we will see constant updates. I just hope that the support for the protection of our resources amongst members will grow, especially the voices of support on this thread.

The fact is that the more support the easier it is for action to take place.

[jace]

Some of our members on KZN Fishing have got together to start a formal group to target these issues.

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Stared By Cameron ( Mystic on UA )

Earlier this year, myself, Cornel and Jackie took a decision to launch a Non-Profit Organisation for ocean conservation in KZN. This is however, taking some time and we hope to have it up and running by the end of February. So watch this space for updates.

In the meantime though, as many of you know, we have been involved in a few conservation issues.

The first was raising awareness about the massive amounts of shad and other fish being poached by charter boats operating out of Durban harbour. Our Facebook page went from 0 to 360 + members in a few days and now sits at over 550 members and is still pretty active. There was significant success achieved through the clamp down on these poachers and numerous charters were caught by the Parks Board and SAP water wing. Some of the guys managed to wriggle out of their cases but the majority were heavily penalised and a few a few cases are still on-going.

Then in the last few weeks we appealed to guys calling the Ezemvelo Anti-poaching Hotline number to please sms us the details about these calls so that we can track how many of these calls are logged and what action was taken. This way we will be able to present facts to the Parks Boards and hold them accountable for non-performance if this is found to be the case.
So far we haven't had a major influx of information on this but we will be looking at ways to get this to work in the new year.

Over the last 3 weeks we got involved in fighting the shad poachers along the Virginia/Glenahsley/Shipwreck and Eastmoor stretch, together with Jason Gessner from the Shore Break Brigade. Jason managed to get 2000 stickers sponsored and printed with the Anti-Poaching Hotline number on and these have been distributed to the residents along the beaches and to beach users like you all. We had some uncomfortable moments when we confronted these poachers but we also had major success and since the arrest of 5 poachers in mid week last week the poachers have been conspicuous by their absence. Its not much but it is a start in a fight we intend to get more involved in over the coming months. A big thank you to all the guys who are displaying the stickers and to those calling the number when they see guys breaking the law.

Then today, while I was out, a call came in to Jackie from a guy who has heard of us in Richards Bay. Two young boys were baiting hooks on the end of a line and then throwing them up for the seagulls and catching them and apparently hurting them. Jackie couldn't get hold of me so she contacted Cornel who sprang into action and got hold of our contacts in the parks board in Richards Bay. With in 10 minutes we had received a call saying that the Parks Board had arrived at the Drive-on pier and caught the guys and arrested them.
A quick follow up call to Frans(one of the most dedicated Parkies I have ever met , ) and we learned that he had taken them to the Ezemvelo offices and contacted their parents. No charges were laid but they were collected by their very unhappy parents and I am sure they have had the fright of their life and learned a major lesson. Well done to France and to the young man who called us.

We have built up a network of reliable parks board members from Richards bay and St Lucia down through Durban and we are working on getting some contacts for the South coast.

Every time we do something, no matter how small, like today, we save something for the future.
Please guys, if you are having problems with the Anti-poaching Hotline or don't know who to contact about a problem you have encountered or need help with any conservation issue, please PM or call myself (073 968 7617) or Cornel ( 082 963 3130) or make a post on this thread and we will figure out how best to sort the problem out.

We will use this thread to make regular updates of any projects and actions we are busy with or aware of.

We know we can count on the members of KZN Fishing to help us and support us to make a positive difference for the future of our coastline.


Cameron

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[RobinF]

Well done Cameron, very well done. If you guys need any help with the marketing of what you are doing, I'll do what I can to get the word out there. It costs no money to spread the word and I feel much better doing something than sitting doing nothing. You guys have my 100% support and I will gladly contribute to any anti-poaching activities, I will even contribute financially if need be.

I am going to email your post to a number of people that may well stand up and help you guys. The more support you get, the better.

Regards
Robin

[RobinF]

Hi Reefman,

Thanks for the support. this is something that affects not just all of us, but our children too.

Regards
Robin

[CLS]

Thumbs up to KZN fishing, I stay at Virginia and probably chatted you as I go down often to have a look see, my son throws a spoon after work weather permitting.
 I need one of those stickers. Cheers Chris