DA requests KZN fisheries officials' return

The importance of protecting SA oceans from reckless overfishing was in the news last week, with a marine expert questioning the value of marine protected areas, even as the DA called for better policing of the KZN coastline, writes Legalbrief. The national Fisheries Minister has been urged to reinstate Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife immediately as official custodian of the province’s sea fish and marine resources. A report in The Mercury notes that the call has been made by DA environment spokesperson, Thomas Hadebe, amid fears that the recent cancellation of the Ezemvelo contract had led to a vacuum in patrols and policing that was being exploited by fish poachers. Hadebe said at the weekend that he had sent a petition to the national Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, to immediately reinstate Ezemvelo as the custodian of the KZN coastline. ‘Countless South Africans depend on the ocean either as subsistence fisherman or for jobs, which will not exist if overfishing and poaching are allowed to deplete ocean species,’ he is quoted in the report as saying. The petition, with more than 70 signatures from concerned citizens and groups, was handed over last week. A spokesperson for the department reportedly did not respond to requests for comment.

Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)