Without the Save Our Seas Foundation’s input in the SASC RecFishSA project, we would never have been able to get it off the ground. The SOSF has contributed to understanding the survival of elasmobranchs caught and released by recreational fishermen in South Africa and assisted in informing hundreds of anglers about the simple actions they can take to reduce the negative impacts of their sport.
WHO I AM Having grown up in the ‘deep south’ of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa’s Western Cape, I think I was always destined to become an advocate for the conservation of the creatures I share my surroundings with. My playgrounds were unspoiled beaches, dunes and coastal fynbos forests. I learned to swim before I could walk and quickly developed a fascination for the otherworlds below the waves. I recall winter days when I snorkelled in the cold water of False Bay for an hour at a time and came out of the water shivering and blue. Then I’d spend hours in the library learning about the mysterious creatures I had seen. The sea was – and still is – my sanctuary, my church, my life’s love. After an unfulfilling career in pre-school teaching and restaurant management, I joined the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s Fisheries Resource Management National Diploma programme at the ripe old age of 32. Returning to academia and working nights and weekends was a challenge I accepted enthusiastically. It’s easy to study what you love! WHERE I WORK In 2010 I joined the South African Shark Conservancy (SASC), a small non-profit organisation 235
based in Hermanus, Western Cape, as an unpaid volunteer. Four years later I am still happily working there. I don’t need to tell myself that I am living my dream; I’m reminded every day when I arrive at work, when I come into contact with the shark, skate and ray species I have the privilege of researching, when I see the awe and amazement on the faces of the children who enter our facility. WHAT I DO Recreational fishing is extremely popular in South Africa: of about 2.5 million sport and recreational anglers, roughly 850,000 participate in rock and surf fishing. Within this sector, an undetermined number of fishermen catch and release elasmobranchs (sharks, skates and rays). Some do so simply for their own enjoyment; others compete in angling tournaments. In recreational fishing for elasmobranchs, the bag limit for caught-and-retained sharks is 10 per day (of any size). For catch-and-release fishing, however, there is no bag limit and anglers may take (and return to the water) as many ray-finned fish or elasmobranchs as they wish every day of the year – there is no closed season.
In 2007 it was estimated that the recreational fishing industry contributed about R18.8-billion per year to the South African economy, which is possibly as much as 80% more than the contribution made by commercial fishing. Both commercial and recreational inshore fisheries target (or take as by-catch) the identical species complex. However, as the populations of species that were traditionally valuable to commercial fisheries have dwindled due to overfishing and unselective fishing practices (such as trawling and long-lining), commercial operations have begun to target less valuable species. Unfortunately, sharks, skates and rays constitute a large majority of these. What does this mean for shark conservation? Consider the following: Is a caught-and-released shark worth more to the South African economy than a shark caught, killed and sold on the commercial market? How much does recreational catch-and-release shark fishing contribute to the South African economy? Is its contribution greater than that of commercial shark fishing? How many caught-and-released sharks live to be caught and released another day? With these questions in mind, the SASC began its RecFishSA project.