Port Elizabeth | Saturday
LOVE it or hate it, from Sunday the regulation banning the use of off-road vehicles on the beach kicks in.
Anyone caught ignoring the regulation could be in for a hefty penalty, including a fine of up to R10 000 or the confiscation of their 4X4.
Anglers in the Eastern Cape are fuming about the ban, the Daily Dispatch reported.
With miles of otherwise inaccessible beaches along the pristine Eastern Cape coast, anglers feel they are unfairly being denied entry to some of their favourite hunting grounds.
Those canvassed by the newspaper all supported controlling off-road vehicle access to the beach.
But they say the blanket ban will suck the fun out of fishing, kill coastal tourism, and result in accessible areas becoming heavily over-fished.
There seems to be some support for this view and a tourism workshop at Katberg this week heard that 34 out of 35 reservations at Hamburg were cancelled by anglers once they heard the beaches would be closed to 4x4s from Sunday.
SA Shore Angling Association president Henri Melville said Environmental Affairs Minister Mohamed Valli Moosa had ignored the many letters, affidavits and pleas communicated to him. ”We are very much in favour of controlling beach access but we can’t accept a total ban.”
It is understood the association may challenge the legislation in court.
Dave Alcock, of Alcock’s Fishing Tackle in Port Elizabeth, believes the ban will result in a collapse in interest in angling with obvious knock-on effects for businesses like his own and tourism.
”People don’t want to have to fish in among crowds. People come here to be part of nature.”
But environmentalists say it is precisely these pristine beaches that need protection – even from well-meaning anglers who use their vehicles responsibly.
Professor of Ichthyology and fisheries science at Rhodes University Tom Hecht said there was no doubt that 4x4s caused harm to certain breeding birds, inter-tidal organisms and plant life.
”From a conservation point of view, of course it (the ban) is a good thing.
”There is no doubt that the serious rock and surf anglers, by and large, act responsibly and they are getting a raw deal – but we have to look at the broader picture.”
The broader picture, he said, included the fact that there would now be miles of pristine beaches untouched by angling.
This could lead to exhausted line-fish stocks recovering in many areas, something he believes many anglers will welcome.
He also points out that applications can be made for exceptions to the ban.
”Local authorities can apply to have some beaches opened for recreational vehicle use providing an environmental impact assessment is carried out.”
He believes it may also be possible for organised anglers to apply for permission for tournaments to take place.
The regulation imposes a general ban on the use of 4x4s on the coast for recreational purposes.
However, certain uses of vehicles within the coastal zone are permitted, including ”the use of a vehicle on a public road, in an emergency situation … by an employee of the state for the purposes of performing public duties and the use of electrically-propelled vehicles by physically disabled persons.”
Marine and Coastal Management regional director Eugene Swart said the ban could go a long way towards aiding the fight against perlemoen poaching.
”Since no-one is now going to be allowed on beaches in vehicles, poachers’ tyre tracks can be easily followed. Once we get to them, the ban enables us to order them to leave the area immediately.
”It also allows for confiscation of the vehicle and the imposition of a spot fine of R17 000,” he said. – Sapa