Cape Town - The implementation of aerial surveillance to further support visitor safety and environmental crime prevention operations across Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) over the long weekend proved a success for SANParks.
It resulted in suspected abalone poachers getting caught and a large active poacher camp being exposed.
SANParks set out to ensure added support for visitor safety and environmental crime prevention operations over the long weekend, with the Airbus H125 rotary-winged aircraft making its rounds over the entirety of the park, together with the Sea, Air and Mountain (Seam) Team special operations rangers and K9 rangers on patrol in various TMNP hot spot areas.
SANParks spokesperson Lauren Clayton said the Seam team, together with SANParks chopper pilots, located a large active poacher camp within the Cape of Good Hope section of TMNP, where they recovered diving gear and other equipment used for illegal abalone harvesting, apprehended poachers and seized a large amount of abalone.
“The advantage of aerial support is that it allows us to access remote sections of the park that would otherwise require extended foot patrols to reach. The camp that was identified was spotted during a coastal patrol in poaching hot spot areas of the park. We were able to land the chopper and investigate further,” Clayton said.
A response team was dispatched following an evening of constant communication between the Seam team, TMNP conservation and marine rangers. Intel received by the Environment Crime Investigation (ECI) unit indicated that groups of poachers were operating in the Cape of Good Hope section of TMNP.
“En-route to the location, a pick-up vehicle fled the scene, leaving two suspects behind who were later apprehended following a hot pursuit. While investigating the scene, a large amount of abalone was seized, resulting in a case being lodged against the suspects,” Clayton said.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut confirmed that two suspects, aged 27 and 37, were arrested for abalone poaching and taken to Simon’s Town Police Station.
Clayton said the aerial surveillance was to a large extent successful due to area coverage, visibility and man-hours spent in proactive patrols. However, its effectiveness was impacted by wind conditions over the weekend as it was too risky to fly in high winds.
SANParks said this type of aerial surveillance would be continued during the holidays and long weekends to come as it was one of the main objectives of the Seam operators to provide increased terrestrial and marine protected area coverage.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za