‘Zama zamas of the sea’ — Perlemoen poachers invade Nelson Mandela Bay’s boat channel

Growing concern over perlemoen poaching along the Nelson Mandela Bay coastline has reached new levels after a skipper nearly wrecked his boat, and endangered the lives of his crew, to avoid injuring suspected poachers who popped out of the water as the boat started docking

On 20 June, Kevin Clarke was approaching the slipway at the Noordhoek Ski Boat Club in choppy conditions when he suddenly saw about 10 unauthorised divers peek their heads above the surface.

He had split seconds to make a decision – swerve and potentially scuttle his boat on the rocks along the shoreline, or stay his course and run over the divers’ heads and possibly kill several people.

“I had put my life, and the lives of my four crew members in serious danger when I suddenly had to swerve. We were lucky to walk away unscathed, but it ultimately cost me one of my motors,” Clarke said.

The incident has highlighted the steady encroachment of illegal divers into the channel, which was previously reserved for the use of boating club members to launch and dock boats. The club’s safety committee has now reached out to authorities for urgent assistance to address the growing issue.

“In recent years, and even more so in recent months, we have experienced increasing incidents involving suspected abalone poachers diving in the boat channel used by our members and visiting vessels, and it poses an immediate and unacceptable risk to human life,” Petrus Botha, of the Noordhoek Ski Boat Club safety committee, said.

Clarke explained that he and four crew members left Noordhoek early on 20 June for a day of fishing, and they were returning at 3.15pm when the incident took place.

“I had entered the channel and aligned my course with the safety lights provided. The sea conditions were choppy, the sun was in my eyes, and I knew I would have to commit once I was on course.

“I was a little more than 100 metres from the break wall and cruising at 18 to 20 knots. Suddenly I noticed about 10 divers popping their heads through the water right in front of my course.”

Clarke jerked his vessel to the left to avoid the divers, putting the lives of his crew in jeopardy, and ended up hitting rocks along the reef, severely damaging one of his engines.

“My crew started shouting at the divers, and they responded by giving us the middle finger and hurling curses back at us.

“The more I think about it, the more I realise how lucky everyone really was. Myself and my crew could have gotten seriously hurt, or I could easily have killed three or more of those divers,” he said

“It is a very frustrating situation as there is very little us as club members can do about it. These guys are like the zama zamas of the sea and a law unto themselves.”

Clarke said all indications were that these divers were poaching perlemoen as they would be the only people brazen enough to dive in the restricted channel in broad daylight, and it was only a matter of time before tragedy struck.

“It is a very frustrating situation as there is very little us as club members can do about it. These guys are like the zama zamas of the sea and a law unto themselves,” Clarke said.

On behalf of the Noordhoek Ski Boat Club’s safety committee, Botha sent out an urgent plea to club members to be careful when launching or docking at the club, and requested urgent assistance from the relevant authorities.

“The boat channel is used for launching and retrieving ski boats, often in difficult sea and surf conditions where skippers have limited room to manoeuvre and restricted visibility below the surface.

“Divers who enter this area illegally or without proper coordination are at serious risk of being struck by ski boats, propellers or other seagoing vessels.”

“Divers who enter this area illegally or without proper coordination are at serious risk of being struck by ski boats, propellers or other seagoing vessels. In addition to the danger to the divers themselves, these incidents place boat skippers, crew members, club officials, and members of the public in an extremely difficult and hazardous position.”

Botha said a skipper’s attention should be on safe launching or recovery procedures, wave conditions and possibly other craft and beach users. The presence of divers in the channel, reserved for boats, substantially increases the likelihood of accidents, injuries or even fatalities.

Illegal diving in Nelson Mandela Bay

Besides Clarke’s incident, other club members confirmed illegal diving activity in the channel and reefs around the club, with some counting as many as 30 divers in the water at a time.

“We have requested urgent assistance from all relevant marine protective and law enforcement agencies. Increased patrols, monitoring, enforcement, and visible preventative measures need to be implemented in the vicinity of the Noordhoek Ski Boat Club and the boat channel,” Botha said.

The illicit perlemoen trade in Nelson Mandela Bay is worth an estimated at R1.2-billion annually as the bulk of the illegally harvested shellfish is exported to Asia as a delicacy. This illegal trade is believed to fund a wide range of other criminal activities.

Stripping the reefs of perlemoen also brings about environmental decay as they play a large role in the coastal ecosystem. Besides providing food for certain sea creatures, Perlemoen also filters impurities out of the ocean water, creating better living conditions for other reef dwellers.

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