Cape City authorities have intensified their crackdown on unlawful marine harvesting following the invention of a big stash of West Coast rock lobster tails in Bishop Lavis, alongside arrests linked to poaching inside a protected coastal zone, as reported by IOL.
Picture used for illustrative functions/Andrey Filippov 安德烈 from Moscow, Russia/Wikimedia Commons
Hundreds of lobster tails discovered throughout metropolis patrol
Members of the Metropolis’s Marine and Environmental Unit have been conducting routine patrols on Monday afternoon after they stopped a person outdoors a residential property in Bishop Lavis. Based on Metropolis Legislation Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason, officers grew to become suspicious after noticing the person’s behaviour and have been granted entry to the premises.
As soon as inside, a powerful scent of fish prompted additional inspection. Officers found a number of fridges in a room, every containing blue baggage crammed with West Coast rock lobster tails. In complete, 3,162 tails have been confiscated.
A 35-year-old man was arrested and brought to the South African Police Service in Bishop Lavis. He now faces prices associated to the unlawful possession of marine assets. The case stays underneath investigation.
Separate operation targets protected shoreline
Earlier on the identical day, a joint enforcement operation was carried out alongside the Cape Peninsula shoreline. The operation was led by the Division of Forestry, Fisheries and the Surroundings, with help from SANParks and the Metropolis’s Marine Unit.
In the course of the operation, 4 vessels have been seized and 10 fishermen arrested for allegedly harvesting crayfish inside a closed Marine Protected Space at Brightwaters and Olifantsbos, each positioned contained in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.
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Seasonal limits stay tightly enforced
The arrests fall inside the 2025/26 West Coast rock lobster season, which is ruled by the Marine Dwelling Sources Act. Industrial fishing is permitted from 15 November 2025 to fifteen March 2026, with the shortened season forming a part of long-term inventory restoration measures.
Leisure harvesting is topic to even stricter controls. In December, Fisheries Minister Willie Aucamp confirmed that leisure fishing could be restricted to 12 designated days between December and March. Harvesting outdoors these dates, exceeding each day limits or fishing with no legitimate allow stays unlawful.
Though the Complete Allowable Catch for the 2025/26 season was elevated by 58.4% from 505 to 800 tonnes, following scientific assessments indicating indicators of restoration, authorities have warned that unlawful fishing continues to undermine these features.
‘Marine crime stays a critical concern’
Mayoral Committee Member for Security and Safety JP Smith mentioned the unlawful harvesting of marine species stays a persistent problem.
“Unlawful exploitation of our marine assets is an ongoing concern and is usually linked to broader felony exercise. Our Marine Unit works intently with accomplice companies to observe and shield Cape City’s shoreline,” he mentioned.
Authorities have once more urged the general public to not buy illegally sourced seafood and to report suspected poaching, stressing that client demand continues to drive unlawful commerce.
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