Cape Town - The SA Weather Service (Saws) has warned of damaging waves causing difficulty at sea after yet another fisherman died when a boat capsized off Shelley Point along the West Coast.
Four men got into distress on Monday night off the Saldanha Bay coastline when they attempted to catch snoek, leaving one man dead and another missing, while two survived.
The incident brings the number of fishermen dead to 12 in less than a week, after Sea Harvest’s MFV Lepanto sank 35km offshore from Hout Bay on Friday, leaving 11 of the 20 crew presumed drowned.
Saws said its warnings were in place since last Thursday.
“On May 16, 2024, Saws issued a marine warning on the Safety of Life at Sea products for very poor visibility expected to affect the coastal area between Alexander Bay and Cape Agulhas on the 17th, advising of clearance during the 18th.
“A marine warning indicating that very rough sea conditions with wave heights of between 4.5 and 5m were expected to result in difficulty in navigation at sea along the coast between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Damaging waves resulting in the possibility of coastal users being swept off low-lying rocks, and difficulty in navigation at sea, can be expected between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas,” Saws said.
The Mykonos National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander, Nic Stevens, said the boat carrying the four fishers capsized one nautical mile offshore on Monday.
“At 4.04pm NSRI Mykonos and NSRI St Helena Bay duty crews were activated following reports from Shelley Point Security of a boat capsized one nautical mile offshore of Shelley Point, West Coast.
“It has been reported that four local fishermen were on the snoek fishing boat when the boat reportedly capsized at the backline breakers.
“The NSRI rescue craft Rotary Onwards was launched. Transnet National Ports Authority Port of Saldanha Bay Port Control and Telkom Maritime Radio Services were alerted.”
Stevens said on arrival, three men were found on the beach.
“CPR efforts were commenced, by paramedics, on one local adult man.
“After all efforts to resuscitate the man were exhausted, he was sadly declared deceased by paramedics. Two survivors, local adult males, were treated on the scene by paramedics for non-fatal drowning symptoms.
“One of the survivors was transported to hospital in a stable condition by EMS ambulance. One survivor was not transported to hospital, but was transported to his home by police.”
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk confirmed that the fishing boat capsized at the Golden Mile beach.
“A 53-year-old male drowned, two males were rescued and one male is still missing. The unfortunate incident took place in St Helena Bay policing precinct. An inquest case was opened for investigation.”
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy sent her condolences to the affected families.
“This has been a tragic week in the fisheries sector, with two fatal incidents happening one after the other. Our heartfelt condolences go to the family of the fisherman who lost his life. In the same breath, our thoughts and prayers are with the missing fisherman and his family,” said Creecy.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za