MyPE

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So Was Someone Actually Chumming off of our Beaches?

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It seems as though the concern that a Port Elizabeth based sea going tour operator was ‘chumming’ off of our beaches has got a number of people’s knickers in a knot. The ‘restraint’ shown by locals in not wanting to get involved has been telling.

The ‘Noseweek of the Fishing Industry’, Feike, has once again not pulled any punches and come out fighting for our marine resources and the people who benefit from the proper exploitation thereof.

The facts of the ‘situation’ are:

  • Over two days a blue and white vessel was observed to be sailing a pattern in and out from our beaches,
  • The operator was approached by authorities after being filmed,
  • The operator was observed by many land based people and concerned swimmers,
  • The operator was filmed by the beach cameras,
  • The Beach Manager has called on the Port Authorities and the Yacht Club to ‘take action’,
  • The operator has stated that they were ‘chumming’ for kelp gulls.

Being a relatively doff person when it comes to legal matters I asked Shaheen Moolla – who served as Special Legal Adviser to South Africa’s former Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Valli Moosa – what specific laws could have been broken by this activity. According to Shaheen; “Firstly, chumming for sharks is prohibited by law under the WSCD Regulations of 2008 (reg 3). Penalty is R300k or 2 years’ imprisonment.

If it was birds they were attracting, then section 3 of the Sea Birds and Seals Protection Act prohibits the willful disturbance of any seal or sea bird without a permit or exemption issued by the Minister of DEA. I understand that no such permit or exemption was issued.

Thirdly, in terms of Chapter 8 of the ICM Act, chumming constitutes “dumping” of “effluent” and is an offence unless a dumping at sea permit has been issued by the Minister of DEA. Again, to my knowledge no such permit was issued. The unlawful dumping carries a penalty of R5 million and/or 10 years imprisonment.

Accordingly, the Municipality, you or me have the right to lodge criminal complaints under any or all of these laws. If DEA was able to its job properly and enforce their own laws, then they ought to lead on the prosecution. I am more than happy to support any person by drafting the applicable affidavits etc who lodges a criminal complaint against Raggy Charters on these grounds.”

So apart from behaviour that can be seen as rather ‘suspicious’ and some say, ‘morally corrupt’ the tour operator will have to produce a legal document proving that he, at the very least, has permission to ‘chum’ for kelp gulls.

Should such a permit be produced then the citizens of Port Elizabeth need to ask some serious questions of the authorities who would allow such an easily misintrepreted operation to take place along our beaches which are well known for being a safe watersport venue.

Related: See Comments on I Wouldn’t Swim Off of Hobie or Kings Beach for a While | FEIKE Blog.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I hope that someone will take this further – if there is footage of the culprits, action needs to be taken. I hope that this story doesn’t just fizzle out, like so many other stories that are brought to our attention and then vapourise with no closure. Thank you for your objective and factual approach to the story.

  2. I am so glad that PE people have taken this chumming off our beaches seriously enough to stop it in it’s tracks. How far will people go to abuse our environment for the sake of money? Name & shame the guilty or it gets the law abiding charters seen in the same light. Breaking the law in SA is taken very lightly. Our environment is so fragile – help protect our beautiful bay.

  3. I am so glad that PE people have taken this chumming off our beaches seriously enough to stop it in it’s tracks. How far will people go to abuse our environment for the sake of money? Name & shame the guilty or it gets the law abiding charters seen in the same light. Breaking the law in SA is taken very lightly. Our environment is so fragile – help protect our beautiful bay.