The octopus trapping industry was entangled in controversy after an endangered Bryde’s whale was caught in octopus lines on 11 June. An online petition, signed by more than 26,000 people, called for the industry to be shut down completely.

Two days later, on 28 June, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy announced a moratorium on octopus trapping in False Bay, ordering the removal of all gear related to the industry. But four months after the minister’s announcement there are no updates on the suspension, and with no end in sight, the affected fishers are struggling to make ends meet.

The octopus fishing vessel Albatross carries the pots used to trap octopus in the False Bay area. (Photo: supplied)

According to Albi Modise, Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) communications director, “Consideration is currently being given to possibly lifting the temporary suspension on the fishery in False Bay on condition that a number of further gear modifications are implemented in order to mitigate against further entanglements.”

But there is no longer any gear to modify. According to Garry Nel, director and shareholder of Cape Town Octopus, the company is for sale. As a result of the moratorium, at least 24 people are now out of a job, and with Christmas around the corner the fishers say they are “worried”.

“We have now had this temporary suspension in place for four months. No business can just wait in limbo for this amount of time, and there seems to be no urgency in order to finally create and establish this octopus fishery. It has cost us a huge amount of effort, manpower and money for our small, developing business,” Nel told Daily Maverick.

The octopus industry in False Bay has, for over a decade, existed under an exploratory license. During the original outcry over industry-related whale deaths, Daily Maverick reached out to DEFF for more information on why the original, five-year licence was extended for an additional 10 years. Modise, on behalf of the department, responded with:

“As fisheries’ data relies on analyses of trends over time, the data from the first few years are not very informative, but these become more informative as one accumulates more data over time.”

Modise also explained that licences were offered to multiple fisheries stakeholders, but, due to the “considerable financial investment” needed to purchase a vessel and equipment, only one stakeholder took on the permit to trap octopus in False Bay: Nel.

“We have been the leading research vessel in the experiment, and therefore we made the mistakes, learnt from them and took the risks on behalf of government. All future permit conditions will be based on our best practices,” said Nel.

Despite the suspension of the industry in False Bay, octopus fishing operations in areas such as Mossel Bay and Gansbaai continue, with permit holders voluntarily implementing mitigation factors to their gear. These include adding PVC pipe over the trap lines connected to the buoys on top of the water and the traps on the sea bed, to prevent the lines from wrapping around whales.

DEFF has yet to implement industry-wide, standardised mitigation factors. According to Modise, the matter requires “careful consideration”, particularly as to whether the data that would be collected by lifting the suspension for the last few months of the fisheries’ license outweighs the potential risk of further whale entanglements.

When Daily Maverick asked DEFF for clarity as to why False Bay fishing has been suspended while octopus trapping in the rest of the province continues, the response received indicated that False Bay posed the largest threat.

According to Craig Lambinon, chairperson of the South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN), “There were lower entanglement and subsequent mortality rates in the areas outside of False Bay.”

The skipper of Albatross, who asked not to be named, told Daily Maverick the peak octopus season ranges from the start of October to the end of June, during which time the crew in False Bay were able to catch approximately five tons of octopus a month. Nel confirmed the company took about 60 tons of octopus out of the bay last year.

“We suggested we take our gear out during peak whale season, we’re okay with that,” the skipper said. “Even though we would lose money, my crew would do it. We don’t actually want to kill whales. We’re fishermen, we love the sea.”

In an ideal world, Lambinon would see all fishing gear out of the water between June and November, octopus fishing gear included. He emphasised, however, that the octopus industry is particularly helpful to SAWDN, and regularly assists in disentanglement processes.

“They help us a lot. The problem with the Bryde’s whale is it’s much smaller and less powerful than the other animals. For instance, the right whales are tremendously powerful, and the humpback whales are slightly less powerful but still a lot more powerful than the Bryde’s whales. So the Bryde’s have a higher mortality rate when they get stuck in any lines,” Lambinon said.

Albatross’s skipper told Daily Maverick the day the Bryde’s whale was caught in his line was the day he knew his life was going to change. He explained seeing the whales near one of his lines, and moving it away from them, only to find out later that the small whale had become entangled in the moved line.

“It was one of the worst days. I can’t even tell you how I felt, how we all felt. It was terrible.”

But the skipper, his crew and Nel feel they were unjustly vilified and held accountable for the deaths of other whales that were not caught in their lines.

“The irony here is that we have been tried and executed by social media couch eco-warriors, with little real knowledge or qualifications, as well-intended and as privileged as most of these persons are,” said Nel.

When Daily Maverick asked the department if the temporary suspension would be lifted or fully enforced, Modise said there were no updates. DM