Cape Town - Three suspected poachers have been arrested, and their vessel seized for allegedly harvesting dozens of live West Coast rock lobsters in the restricted zone of the Table Mountain National Park’s Marine Protected Area (TMNP MPA).
The Sea, Air and Mountain (Seam) special operations rangers together with SANParks’ marine unit rangers and the City’s law enforcement assisted the operation that saw over 200 of the lobsters returned to the ocean.
SANParks spokesperson Lauren Clayton said this was a planned operation to conduct vessel inspections within the TMNP MPA and they prepared their deployment with all the resources they would require should they encounter a non-compliance matter during the operation.
“As a conservation management authority, we find the illegal harvesting of any marine living resource hugely concerning as we know it is unsustainable. This is why we have invested in reinforcing our compliance capabilities in order to uphold the legislation that has been put in place to ensure access to resources for future generations,” said Clayton.
SANParks said it was later confirmed by the police that the three arrested suspects broke their bail conditions as they were currently released on bail for abalone poaching.
Safety and Security Mayco member JP Smith said poaching of marine resources was an ongoing problem and every effort was needed to protect these resources.
“We congratulate the SANParks rangers on this success, which comes less than two weeks after the City’s law enforcement marine unit had a similar success, resulting in the arrest of four suspected poachers and the impounding of their boat,” said Smith.
He said it was good to see the recently launched rangers making inroads so soon and they would continue to work with SANParks and other agencies to address crime in Cape Town.
In agreement, SANParks said they would continue to collaborate with law enforcement stakeholders to ensure a joint response to these environmental compliance issues.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za