Recreational divers who use inflatables to visit the dive sites of the Western Cape, South Africa, are facing a ban as the authorities take drastic action to prevent abalone poaching.

With abalone stocks dwindling, the Western Cape's Marine and Coastal Management service are proposing a total ban on diving from inflatables from 1 December 2003. The move will severely disadvantage the region's recreational divers, most of whom dive from inflatables, and threatens the local tourist diving industry.

The proposal is intended to target poachers and will be enforced in areas where abalone or perlemoen - marine snails related to clams, oysters and mussels - grow.

Abalone are are popular delicacy in the Far East and due to the limited stocks available, command high prices. This makes them an attractive target for poaching divers. All of the poachers arrested by the South African authorities this year have used inflatables.

Local divers are outraged at the proposals, claiming that the rights of perfectly law abiding divers are being infringed in an unconstitutional manner. They suggest better regulation of the harbours where the abalone are landed, stricter controls over the flight carriers that export the abalone, or even a blanket ban on the taking of abalone until stocks recover.

The abalone industry in South Africa is worth several million pounds and employs over 1,000 people.


More articles of interest
Diving with sharks in South Africa
South Africa's Sardine Run

Related website
The Abalone Network - research into abalone


News Index Page