Gustav Thiel
RESEARCHERS at the University of Cape Town=20 (UCT) have what they think may be at least=20 a partial solution to the problem of=20 poaching off the Cape coast: they want to=20 place some of the responsibility for=20 maintaining abalone, or perlemoen,=20 populations in the hands of the poachers=20 themselves.
This unusual experiment in co-operation=20 between the regulators and the regulated is=20 to be tried in the small town of Hawston,=20 near Hermanus, southwest of Cape Town. The=20 abalone population there is under such=20 threat that Environmental Affairs Minister=20 Pallo Jordan recently cut the abalone quota=20 in half.
The project is a joint effort of the=20 departments of zoology and criminology,=20 together with the environmental advisory=20 unit of UCT and the Directorate of Sea=20 Fisheries. It has received the support of=20 Jordan.
The plan is to give poachers and commercial=20 fishermen a stake in abalone reseeding=20 ventures. Reseeding is the release of young=20 hatchery-born abalone into their natural=20 environment to enhance existing stocks, or=20 for commercial ranching purposes.
The aim of the project is to give legal=20 commercial fishermen and the poachers a=20 stake in the business, and to provide badly=20 needed economic opportunities for local=20 residents. In return, the residents would=20 be encouraged to protect the abalone and=20 other marine populations, which have long=20 been subjected to severe over-exploitation,=20 by both legal and illegal means.
Neville Sweijd, of the UCT zoology=20 department, said the project is ground- breaking because it promises to include the=20 local fishing community in settling long- standing disputes with the fishing=20 authorities over the use of marine=20 resources.=20
The researchers hope to use Hawston as a=20 model for other coastal communities where=20 conflict between fishermen and fishing=20 authorities continues.
“With the majority of both commercial=20 divers and poachers living in Hawston, this=20 project focuses on an area where the=20 controversial issues surrounding poaching=20 have centred, and where abalone stocks are=20 most threatened,” the project proposal=20 says.
The researchers have the support of the=20 Access Rights Committee, which was recently=20 appointed by the Fishing Policy Development=20 Committee.
In a statement, the committee welcomed the=20 prospect of local communities having the=20 responsitility of managing some marine=20 areas, or co-managing them with fishing=20 authorities.
“A sense of ownership and responsibility=20 should increase if people know they are=20 managing the resources for their own=20 benefit,” the committee said.