Abagold’s dried abalone, for example, sells for just over $200 per pound. While abalone can be found in other countries, the South African species is the most sourced in the illegal market. As we took our places in a café in Hermanus, an attractive seaside town about 80 miles east of Hout Bay, he told me in a low voice that a colleague had recently disappeared to a safe house in the mountains behind town after being told by an informant that a local abalone syndicate had placed a hit on him. The government redistributed many of the yearly quotas from white-owned companies to previously disadavantaged black-owned companies, and the new fisheries policies—which applied to the commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing sectors—didn’t include small-scale traditional and artisanal fishermen who had been diving and selling their catch for generations. These individuals, who had been harvesting abalone for generations, were excluded from the market. South Africa has indefinitely suspended the fishing of abalone – commonly known as perlemoen – in its waters, effective from 1 February 2008. This species is easily recognized by the row of open holes, which are respiratory pores, located along its outer edge. Convicted Poachers In South Africa Explain Why Heavy Policing Is Ineffective. This species can be found all over the world, preferring the cold waters off the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Australia, and the Pacific coast of North America. That, he said, is why “illegal abalone sells for a third of the price of farmed of legal abalone—it’s the lowest value product in the world on the abalone market.”. Much of these imports were illegal, the researchers found. The problem with sprinkling farmed abalone into the ocean to boost wild stocks, he said, is that “you create a genetic bottleneck—a lack of diversity in the wild gene pool.” Wild abalone then risk collapse from disease or changes in the environment. Transporting unprocessed abalone shells out of New Zealand is illegal. A multi-disciplinary task team consisting of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), SA Police Service and other law enforcement players last weekend carried out a combined operation in the Gansbaai area of the Western Cape that netted several suspects and confiscated abalone with an estimated export value of more than R5 million. South Africa: Western Cape Duo Sentenced for Over R5.6 Million Worth of Illegal Abalone. The absence of abalone in the marine ecosystem would be detrimental to the habitat. These species are ecologically important and their algae grazing behavior cleans the area, allowing for colonization and population growth of other species. Abalone clinging to the ocean floor, where they feed on kelp leaves, make an easy target for poachers, many of whom are beholden to criminal syndicates. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com. Demand for abalone in Asia is increasingly being met through illegal harvesting run by criminal gangs threatening the survival of the marine mollusk in South Africa, a report has said. A booming illegal trade in abalone—the world’s most valuable shellfish—is fueling a social and environmental crisis in South Africa. Abalone shells have an oval shape that can be arched or flattened. Abalones, or marine snails, are a much sought-after delicacy in Asia with demanding peaking around the Chinese New Year. Researchers believe the poaching industry first began during the post-Apartheid era of the 1990âs. Piek is the marketing manager of Abagold, an abalone farm that at any one time has three million of the shellfish in various stages of growth, from microscopic plankton to pin-size spat to adults whose shells are bigger than a man’s hand. This has helped the wild population numbers grow and allows the country to sustainably harvest 5,000 tons of abalone each year. In 2013 I conducted an exploratory analysis of abalone poaching in a South African national park to see whether the “routine activities theory” might be useful in tackling the problem. The local police force, known for high levels of corruption, accepts bribes from these syndicates to overlook the illegal fishing. But if it’s shut down without a plan to help the thousands of local fishermen who would lose their livelihoods, that could lead to a “massive social problem” when these people “turn to other forms of crime to get by.”. As a result the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which sets annual quotas, says that “only an appreciable reduction in removals can prevent a complete collapse [in the wild] within about a decade.”. Abalone (/ ˈ æ b ə l oʊ n iː / or / ˌ æ b ə ˈ l oʊ n iː /; via Spanish abulón, from Rumsen aulón) is a common name for any of a group of small to very large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae.. Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and muttonfish or muttonshells in Australia, ormer in the UK, perlemoen in South Africa, and pāua in New Zealand. Abalone poaching has cost the country 96 million individual abalones worth R10 billion between 2000 to 2016 - and as a result, it is one of the inshore fisheries that faces collapse in South Africa. These guys earn money like it’s crazy, easy money—it’s flashy cars and motorbikes and girls and drugs.”. It’s the best way to avoid decimation of the wild abalone and “the complete collapse of the communities and for crime to take over.”. It’s 50-50. The largest abalone in South Africa, Haliotis midae, can be found along about two-thirds of the country’s coastline. “You won't easily find a lot of talk about the syndicates,” he said. Over the last several years, however, the government has not issued any abalone harvesting permits in an attempt to help restore wild populations. Zodidi Mhlana. Around 75 million abalone have been illegally fished from the waters of South Africa since 2001, 10 times more than the legal quota. If South Africa adopted this approach through partnerships with farms like Abagold, Piek said, the additional tax monies from this “blue economy” would amount to three times what the government now makes from confiscating and selling illegal abalone. In my lifetime I can say I know more than 200 lost to the sea. The abalone market is dominated by China and Korea, followed by South Africa, which is the third largest abalone producer in the world. When you say, ‘Goodbye baby,’ that’s maybe the last goodbye.” He pointed toward the cold turquoise waters of the Atlantic visible beyond a peak called the Sentinel. This paper explores why the illicit abalone trade took off so dramatically in the 1990s and chronicles the attempts of various enforcement agencies to contain it. Illegal trade in the marine mollusks extends across sub-Saharan Africa. Josephs shooed them both away. But according to van der Heyden, it’s worse than ever now. Hundreds of abalone shells carpet a shallow pool near Hout Bay, Cape Town, discarded after poachers shucked out the snails living inside them. Abalone, or perlemoen as we call it here in South Africa, is the name for a group of large, flat sea snails of the genus Haliotis.That may not sound remarkable, but abalone has come to champion the cause for marine conservation by showing the world the dangers of overfishing. When the government refused to provide traditional abalone fishers with a larger quota based on a collective practice, the locals began to illegally collect this species. Readying abalone for market “is more complex than making wine,” Piek said. During this period, South Africa was the largest source of dried abalone to Hong Kong among other African countries. These wildlife crimes affect elephants and rhinos among others, but we’re not always reminded about the lesser-known wildlife like perlemoen (or abalone). While there are 56 species of abalone in the world, five of these are found in South Africa. Why? Faced with losing their livelihood and only source of income, many individuals ignored the restriction and continued harvesting abalone. Here are the reasons why: Poaching or the illegal harvesting of abalone, is the biggest threat to the South African abalone resource. In fact, commercially farmed abalone meat is worth significantly more than illegally poached abalone. We stopped beside one trough, the water in it bubbling for aeration, and Piek drew out a plastic white cone with thousands of tiny blue shells clinging to its underside. Perlemoen poaching is a serious problem on the Cape coast and around South Africa — we’ve had some cases at the Cape of Good Hope and not too long ago, arrests were made in Hout Bay. Consumers in South Africa are prohibited from purchasing abalone meat in the local market. “It’s really chaotic. The poachers shucked out the snails with screwdrivers, filled their bags with the valuable flesh, and dropped the empty shells into the sea. “These are the abalone spat,” he said. ... abalone, or cycads (ancient ... [illegal hunting of rhino] is just like when you are hunting for bushmeat. 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC. “Our estimates for poaching for the same year was 3,477 tons,” he says. It’s quite a skill and art.”, According to Piek, illegal producers don’t have the technique, the recipe, the training, or the facilities to offer abalone of consistently high quality. In South Africa, abalone is more commonly known as perlemoen, a name that stems from the old Dutch word for the iridescent mother-of-pearl found inside the ear-shaped shell. Today, most of the abalone meat consumed comes from farm-raised animals, a practice that began in China and Japan between the late 1950âs and early 1960âs. This illegal trade is worth approximately $440 million annually. A possible solution to South Africa’s abalone poaching crisis, Piek suggests, is to follow Japan’s lead and seed wild abalone populations with abalone spat raised on farms. What would make more sense, he said, would be to divide responsibilities among different government agencies: one to issue quotas based on sound science, another to manage abalone conservation, and one—the country’s priority crime unit, known as the HAWKS—to focus on organized crime. What Are The Harmful Effects Of Littering. The inside of the shell is characterized by a thick layer of nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl. A hungry child can’t learn in school.”. The legal abalone harvest for the same year was only 105 tons. The excessive poaching of abalone has colossal ecological, social, economic and political consequences for the country. While there are 56 species of abalone in the world, five of these are found in South Africa. “Our poaching problem isn’t the fault of the Chinese,” Piek said. Poaching is rife and corruption and drug dealing aggravate the problem further. “It’s a result of our people not having jobs—they don’t have an alternative income. Josephs was too afraid to say more. New fishing policies were applied to several sectors except the local traditional and artisanal fishers. Three suspects aged 23, 28 and 41 were arrested on charges of diving in a restricted zone, the illegal possession of 535 units shucked abalone and possession of prohibited gear in Eluxolweni. While abalone can be found in other countries, the South African species is the most sourced in the illegal market. As a result of this binge of illegal harvesting, South Africa’s stock of wild perlemoen today stands on the brink of extinction. One of the most expensive varieties of abalone occurs in South Africa, where it has been subject since the 1990s to relentless poaching. According to nonprofits dedicated to preventing illegal trade of wildlife, approximately 3,477 tons of abalone were illegally removed from the water in 2015. The excessive poaching of abalone has colossal ecological, social, economic and political consequences for the country. If we all work together, then maybe we can solve this problem.”, Poaching for Abalone, Africa’s ‘White Gold,' Reaches Fever Pitch, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/02/wildlife-watch-abalone-poaching-south-africa.html. “When you start talking about their corruption, then you’re in danger because you’re impacting their pockets.”. All rights reserved. “We can’t have people dying to feed their family.”, “The poachers have got so brazen, they dive in broad daylight,” said Donovan van der Heyden, as we strolled along a wind-raked beach in a marine protected area near Hout Bay, abalone shells crunching underfoot. Last month, on January 20, four smugglers were found guilty of shipping $1.5 million worth of abalone to Hong Kong. When that didn’t happen, many either turned to poaching or stopped diving for abalone. Despite these successes, according to Josephs much illegal abalone goes undetected because some local police officers are corrupt, paid off by the criminal syndicates to turn a blind eye. The large mollusks play an essential “engineering” role by grazing on plants and keeping kelp forests, which support many other species, in good condition. Humans have used abalone as both a food source and decorative object for at least 75,000 years. It’s no man’s dream to be an abalone poacher, said Angelo Josephs, as we sat inside his tiny township shack perched on the mountainside above Hout Bay, a suburb of Cape Town. Then in 2007, the government reacted to drastically reduced wild abalone population numbers by decreasing the annual limit from 800 tons to 80 tons. Numbers of abalone are now at critically low levels because of over-exploitation. In South Africa, annual permits are required to harvest abalone. The most desired abalone species is the Haliotis midae, which is the largest of its kind and found only along the coasts of South Africa. Wild abalone in South Africa has declined to such an extent that the resource is threatened with commercial extinction, says Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environment and Tourism. Of the 56 global species, five are found in South Africa, and one of these, Haliotis midae, is regarded as among the tastiest. Trading abalone is now allowed by government regulation but requires export permits. The abalone uses its muscular foot body to attach itself to rocky outcroppings in shallow parts of the ocean. The report, South Africa's Illicit Abalone Trade: An Updated Overview And Knowledge Gap Analysis, produced by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) researched 25 years of legal and illegal abalone fisheries and the factors leading to the current crisis. Instead, investing in commercial abalone farms may provide a safer and more environmentally sustainable economic opportunity for thousands of individuals. Johannesburg – The amount of South Africa’s abalone which is being illegally trafficked and smuggled to Hong Kong has been on the rise in recent years, a new report released on Friday has revealed.. Wildlife trade organisation, TRAFFIC said that the illegal harvesting of the country’s abalone was way above the legal quota. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- This species, considered the most expensive shellfish in the world, is known locally as âwhite goldâ due to its high value and pearl-like interior. In time they washed up on the beach. “This inevitably places officials under huge pressure and can lead to a conflict of interest,” he said. It is illegal to take abalone from the ocean. This is likely due to the unique social-economic circumstances that still occur 25 years post-apartheid. The answer to reducing illegal poaching in South Africa is not necessarily tied to prosecuting illegal fishers and corrupt police. The number of abalone species is not known exactly, although it has been estimated at somewhere between 30 and 130. “We can’t go on like this,” he said emphatically. Pierre De Villiers, who has a masters in fisheries science and is the coastal program manager for CapeNature, the local government board responsible for biodiversity conservation in the Western Cape, echoes van der Heyden. Training local abalone harvesters to raise, produce, and process quality abalone meat would provide a number of secure employment opportunities. In China, it is served to celebrate special occasions or honour guests. As part of industry reforms, the government redistributed annual abalone quotes among fishing companies. By Amber Pariona on August 1 2017 in Environment. Pretoria, South Africa, 19 th September 2018—Over the past 18 years, poachers have stripped South African coastal waters of at least 96 million abalone. A report by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, found that 96 million of the shellfish have been poached in South Africa’s waters since 2000.. Van der Heyden explained how he stumbled into the dark world of abalone poaching. The abalone take seven years to reach maturity and are then harvested, processed, and packaged for export in different forms: dried, canned, and frozen. Poachers often use a screwdriver to pry out an abalone's flesh—dubbed "white gold" because of its high value. Demand for abalone meat has substantially increased over the last few years, creating an international export industry worth billions of dollars. “It’s a very sensitive subject, very dangerous.”. Breaking the cycle of illegal abalone poaching in South Africa is going to be tough, but not impossible. When I asked Pierre de Villiers, of CapeNature, if farming abalone to take the pressure off wild populations and decriminalize the industry was a good idea, he equivocated. 1 September 2020. The excessive poaching of abalone has colossal ecological, social, economic and political consequences for the country. South Africa could follow the example set by Japan, a country that has increased its wild abalone population by introducing commercially raised young abalone (called spat) to the local coastal areas. As we spoke, one of his kids dashed between us and leaped onto the couch, followed by the dog. Use of scuba diving to locate this species for harvest is prohibited. According to Markus Bergener, of the Southern Africa branch of TRAFFIC, a nonprofit that monitors illicit wildlife trades around the world, the total legal wild abalone harvest in South Africa in 2015 was 105 tons. When asked about corruption in its Western Cape branch, the South African Police’s media representative responded that “corruption by SAPS members are very high on our priority list and every endeavour is made to apprehend and discharge corrupt police officials.” National Geographic also reached out to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries but had received no response by the time of publication. This article takes a closer look at the effects of illegal abalone poaching in South Africa specifically. If somebody can earn a few dollars for a day’s work, they’ll do it.”. The illegal trade of Abalone has exploded in recent years in South Africa. Shells have been found in archaeological ruins from the Northern Channel Islands to the Blombos Caves of South Africa. South African Animals â Animals Native to South Africa. “Just back here we’ve lost a lot of brothers, friends, nephews, uncles, daddies. In November 2016 two abalone kingpins, Akthar Naeem Cassim and Ernest Chen, were arrested near Beaufort West, in the Western Cape, with two tons of dried abalone in a truck. And just last week two seizures of abalone estimated to be worth $2.8 million were made in the Cape Town area. Critics, however, claim that this method reduces the levels of wild diversity. South African Plants â What Kind of Plants Live in South Africa? He went on to paint a picture of how this abalone graveyard must have come to be: One night a group of divers swam into the kelp forest and pried the barnacle-coated abalone off the rocks as they fed on the kelp fronds swaying in the swells. It would also decriminalize more than 15,000 jobs and allow overstretched law enforcement to focus on the organized criminals. If the illegal trade isn’t shut down soon, De Villiers said, South Africa’s wild abalone will become critically endangered. Abalone-diving has been a recreational activity for many years, but stocks are severely threatened by illegal commercial harvesting. Additionally, these criminal organizations recruit young individuals who are living in conditions of poverty and often pay in drugs, creating an addiction that can only be fulfilled by harvesting more abalone. It has an iridescent sheen that changes colors depending on the angle viewed. 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