Authorities say motorists sustain illegal crayfish trade on KZN South Coast

Motorists who pull over at the N2 Hibberdene off-ramp on KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast to buy crayfish from roadside sellers are directly sustaining an illegal trade that authorities say has been running for decades.

Officials warn that the only real way to shut it down is to stop the demand.

The Coastal Marine Task Force (CMTF), a volunteer organisation working alongside environmental stakeholders to protect coastal biodiversity, says the illegal crayfish trade is not a casual roadside operation but a tightly organised network.

“This topic, understandably, keeps coming up, and as role players in coastline management, it is regularly directed towards us for answers. We have attempted to tackle this challenge head-on, but it is a complex issue that has existed for decades,” a CMTF spokesman said.

He added that the problem was complicated by overlapping legal and illegal harvesting.

“It is a structured, complex and well-managed syndicate with many different role players, including harvesters, sellers, storage and management. Some of the crayfish are legally caught and sold under so-called ‘subsistence’ permits, while others are not, which makes apprehension and prosecution very difficult,” he said.

Law enforcement operations targeting the trade have also turned dangerous.

“There have been violent and dangerous situations and even a fatal shooting incident during law enforcement intervention. When the sellers realise they are being targeted, they simply abandon their catch and disappear into the settlements nearby,” the spokesman said.

He said the location of the trade added further risk.

“The location of the selling, on the shoulder of an extremely busy national highway, makes apprehension very dangerous with those being targeted for apprehension often running across the busy highway, potentially endangering both their, as well as innocent motorists’ lives,” he said.

Arrests had done little to disrupt the system.

“Those that have been apprehended show very little remorse for their actions and are quickly replaced within the ‘system’,” the CMTF said.

The CMTF — which works with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Durban Metro Police, eThekwini Municipality Coastal Aquatic Safety and Law Enforcement, Lifesaving South Africa, as well as a huge network of informants along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline —  said it remained committed to enforcing the Marine Living Resources Act, but stressed that enforcement alone will not end the trade.

“So, where does that leave us? The CMTF and its enforcement partners remain committed to tackling this problem. However, one of the easiest ways to stop this market is for people to stop buying the crayfish and fish. If there were no buyers, then the market would not exist.”

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