Abalone poachers intensify pillaging of East Cape shores

Brian Hayward The Herald 16 Aug 09;

THE voracious global demand for perlemoen has resulted in the Eastern Cape becoming a major black market supplier and, despite intensified police activity, poaching of the sought-after shellfish continues unabated amid fears natural stocks could soon be obliterated.

Although police have swooped on several upmarket homes of alleged poachers this month and confiscated big hauls of perlemoen (abalone), researchers believe this is just the tip of the iceberg with the majority able to continue their illegal activities to support extravagant lifestyles.

Up to 2000 tons of perlemoen – which is marketed as a delicacy in the Far East – is thought to leave the Eastern Cape annually with only a small percentage of that seized by police in raids.

These are just some of the findings contained in a groundbreaking report authored by Grahamstown Rhodes University ichthyology head Prof Peter Britz and his former PhD student Serge Raemaekers, now with the University of Cape Town’s Environmental Evaluation Unit.

The report also lambastes government’s poorly co-ordinated attempt at stemming the problem.

The report, published in a recent edition of international journal Fisheries Research, includes interviews with several local poachers as well as law enforcement agencies.

According to Britz, who earlier this month was elected chairman of the International Abalone Association, and Raemaekers, the growth of the industry in the region has seen it become as profitable, since it started in the mid-1990s, as in the Western Cape.

The illegal exploitation of perlemoen in both provinces has become so bad that it is described in the report as “the most criminalised wildlife trade in Africa”.

Other findings contained in the report include:

* Poaching in the region has become highly organised and is far more sophisticated than previously acknowledged by law enforcement agencies;

* The region has more than 50 “superducks” – 500hp, semi-rigid inflatable boats which can carry up to 15 divers at a time – which can handle a one-ton load of de-shelled perlemoen;

* Up to 2000 tons of perlemoen leaves Eastern Cape shores annually, with just a small portion of that seized by police during raids;

* Perlemoen fished locally is snapped up by buyers in Johannesburg and smuggled over the border to countries like Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana before being transported to the Far East;

* Chinese syndicates, as well as other national and international organised crime cartels, are increasingly moving into the region to harvest and dry perlemoen before sending it to the Far East;

* The depreciating rand has made poaching more profitable and alluring with divers in the province typically paid between $40 (R330) and $60 (R490) a kilogram of de-shelled perlemoen, which rises to nearly $80 (R660) during periods of high demand;

* Boat divers can harvest up to 150kg of de-shelled perlemoen a trip, earning them as much as $6000 (R49300) for each of the up to six deep-sea trips taken a month; and

* Perlemoen paid to Johannesburg exporters fetches prices of up to $125/kg (R1030), with payments made mostly in cash, but also bartered for drugs.

According to the authors, brazen poachers are also increasingly casting a wider net by making day trips to the Tsitsikamma coast and even as far afield as Robben Island off Cape Town’s coastline.

“The resilience and adaptation of these poachers has been interesting,” said Raemaekers. “Depending on the law enforcement and the new gear which comes onto the market, if they can’t catch in Algoa Bay, they’ll go to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay and return to Swartkops (on the outskirts of the Bay) and distribute (their catch). They are always 10 steps ahead of law enforcement a lot of the time.”

While poaching in the Western Cape was typified by gangsterism, violence and drugs, in the Eastern Cape poachers entered into the lifestyle out of choice. “The expensive cars and the lifestyle that comes with it (the poaching) is alluring,” said Raemaekers. “It’s huge money and it’s easy to do. A lot of families are benefiting from it in some way or another and for them it’s a lifestyle.”

According to the report, the government’s plan to crack down on the problem was poorly co-ordinated, with most anti-poaching initiatives lasting for the short-term.

But despite the criticism, police believe they are on the right track with more than R5-million worth of perlemoen seized in Nelson Mandela Bay over the past month and 24 suspected dealers and poachers arrested.

On Wednesday, police in Uitenhage arrested a married couple and their sons, aged 18 and 19, as well as a 34-year-old woman who was boarding at their De Mist home, for their alleged involvement in dealing in R220000 worth of perlemoen which was seized at the scene.

Last Friday, police arrested a 47-year-old man with about R2-million worth of perlemoen in Colleen Glen, which was the second haul of the week after the arrest of a 54-year-old man with R1-million of perlemoen ready to be shipped off on Thursday. The week before, 17 suspected perlemoen poachers were arrested after being spotted by marine rangers in Algoa Bay.

SanParks, which is in charge of monitoring the perlemoen hot-bed of Bird Island as it falls under the Addo Elephant National Park, believes it is on the right track with its 2007 establishment of the marine rangers.

“Our aim is to stay in that area. We have had lots of help from tip-offs from the public and we encourage people to carry on reporting that,” said spokesman Megan Taplin.