Abalone wars continue

But sometimes the authorities can be over-zealous, as appears to be the case of the seizure of illegal crayfish to the value of R18 000 in a joint operation between SANParks, Marine and Coastal Management and Sea-board Liner Management officials. According to a Cape Argus report, a tip-off from a whistleblower led the 18-strong team to the doors of Fish Wholesalers in Lentegeur, where officers found 600 West Coast rock lobsters and 61 crayfish tails. The owner was arrested after he was unable to provide the necessary documentation for the crayfish. SANparks officers on the scene boasted that the joint operation was the second big bust over the past few months - on 15 June they seized more than 1 000 crayfish, 28 abalone, and three bags of processed abalone at a restaurant in Simon's Town - but the tables have been turned with the threat of a wrongful arrest suit by the owner after his discharge by the court. A follow-up Cape Argus report points out that Mohammed Iqbal Ebra-hiem, owner of Fish Wholesalers, was released from jail when he provided the Mitchells Plain Regional Court with invoices proving the legitimacy of the crayfish. He told the paper he now planned to take legal action against the MCM as he believed he was 'illegally arrested'. First Cape Argus report (subscription needed) Second Cape Argus report (subscription needed)

Six suspected abalone poachers escaped from authorities in what appears to have been a daredevil 15km night swim through shark-infested waters off Bird Island in Algoa Bay, says a report in The Herald. Marine rangers from the Addo Elephant National Park led the initial swoop last Wednesday, SANParks spokesperson Megan Taplin said. Rangers halted a fleeing rubber duck in the morning, arresting four divers and a skipper for diving and fishing illegally in the Marine Protected Area, and confiscating the rubber duck. While this was happening, a further six divers surfaced and climbed onto Seal Island. It would have been too dangerous to pursue the men as it was getting dark, so the rangers returned to shore, intending to return and arrest them the next day. However, when they returned, the divers had escaped - either by swimming, or being conveyed by a rescue boat. The five suspects that had already been arrested were booked into Kinkelbos Police Station, and appeared in the Paterson Magistrate's Court later in the week. Full report in The Herald

Abalone poacher Kiyaam Rinquest, who received drugs worth millions of rands as payment for illegal exports to the Far East, has been jailed for 32 years, notes a report in The Times. The jail sentence, imposed by Magistrate Amrith Chabilall in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court, brought to an end Rinquest's marathon trial on 23 charges. He was found guilty on 10 of the 23 charges - two of dealing in drugs, two of possession of abalone, two involving the possession of abalone-processing equipment, one concerning the illegal use of the proceeds of crime and three of car theft. Chabilall sentenced Rinquest to 63 years in jail, but ordered that the different sentences run concurrently, which reduced the sentence to 32 years, the report notes. Full report in The Times

On the foreign front, there is news that marine nature reserves may be set up around the British coast in an attempt to protect basking sharks, says a report in The Independent. The fish are threatened by boat collisions, entanglement in fishing nets and in some parts of the world are hunted for their fins (to be used in shark fin soup). Formal proposals for UK protection zones for them are likely to come out of the first-ever international conference on basking shark conservation, which began on the Isle of Man this week. The conference has drawn experts from the US and Canada, SA, New Zealand and the Seychelles, as well as from European countries from France to Norway. Dr Lissa Goodwin, Marine Policy Officer for the Wildlife Trusts, said the meeting would seek to identify conservation zones for the species. These might be included in the marine nature reserves which will be set up around the coasts of Britain under the Marine Bill currently before Parliament, likely to become a Marine Act later this year. Full report in The Independent

A formal proposal to place over fished Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna on the list of the world's most endangered species has been made by Monaco, notes a report on the News24 site, a move that could ban all trade of the fish. According to a draft proposal released on the Web site of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), the UN agency against illegal wildlife trade, Monaco wants the species to be entered straightaway on Appendix I, the agency's top grade of protection. Appendix I lists species threatened with extinction and for which all international trade is prohibited except for non-commercial purposes. Cites is the only global body with the authority to limit or ban global trade in animal and plant species. Bluefin tuna has no form of protection under Cites at the moment. Attempts by other bodies, including the EU, to limit fishing have met strong opposition, notably in France and Italy. Full report on the News24 site