Extinction crisis for abalone

2007-10-25 12:39

Cape Town - All wild abalone (perlemoen) fishing will be suspended from November 1, the government announced on Thursday.

A social plan to address the job losses resulting from the decision has been approved, government communications head Themba Maseko told a media briefing after Cabinet's Wednesday fortnightly meeting.

"This suspension was based on the fact that the abalone stock is in a crisis and is threatened with commercial extinction."

The main causes of the decline in abalone stocks were poaching and the migration of West Coast rock lobsters into the abalone areas, which ate the sea urchins providing shelter to juvenile abalone, he said.

Some of the measures incorporated into the social plan would include developing a sustainable aqua-culture industry and issuing additional permits for whale-watching and shark cage diving.

Tough decision

"Government will work with all key stakeholders to manage the transition," Maseko said.

In a statement later on Thursday, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said the "tough decision" would ensure the survival of the species and also that generations to follow "will know what perlemoen is".

"To suspend fishing in any fishery is a very difficult decision to take as we are aware that such a decision will have an impact on the livelihoods of many people and families in the industry.

"We are unfortunately at a point where the commercial harvesting of wild abalone can no longer be justified because the stock has declined to such an extent that the resource is threatened with commercial extinction," he said.

Studies showed that unless decisive and immediate action was taken, the resource would collapse completely with little prospect of recovery.

"For the past few years the recommendation from our departments managers and researchers has been that the fishery is in crisis and that closure could not be avoided.

"We are now at the point where the Total Allowable Catch reached a record low of 125 tonnes for the 2006/7 season.

"The only responsible option left to me as minister, is to take the unfortunate decision to suspend fishing in the abalone fishery in terms of Section 16 of the Marine Living Resources Act," Van Schalkwyk said.

- SAPA