Page 105 - Research & Innovation Report 2020

LAW

Prof van As and Cameron Cordell, a FishFORCE research assistant,
co-authored the first chapter of “African perspectives on selected
marine, maritime and international trade law topics,” edited by
A World Leader Professors Patrick Vrancken, Nelson Mandela University, and Charl
Hugo, University of Johannesburg (Sun Press, 2020).
in Fisheries Law
Their chapter entitled “Slipping through the net: Reforming South
In March 2020, a publication titled FishFORCE African fisheries law enforcement” elaborates on the corruption
– A World Leader in Fisheries Law Enforcement and inefficiency of fisheries law enforcement in South Africa and
Training was published by Nelson Mandela the region. They write: “Abalone poaching in South Africa remains
University. It provides an overview of the fisheries one of the most serious and entrenched forms of fisheries-crime
crime context and of FishFORCE’s work. It can violations…The fact that court-imposed sanctions do not act as a
be downloaded from the FishFORCE website: deterrent to the continued poaching … is an inefficiency mirrored
fishforce.mandela.ac.za throughout the fisheries law enforcement chain.

“Fisheries crime is not just about fish – it is linked to cigarette
smuggling, illegal harvesting of plants, etc. These criminal activities
erode respect for the rule of law and lead to socio-economic
degradation and the proliferation of gangsterism, allowing a
transshipments offshore, but we don’t have the capacity to deal culture of dependency to become entrenched in communities. The
with it. There are far too few patrol vessels and fisheries control lack of human resources results in the failure to investigate the links
officers for South Africa’s 2800km coastline.” between poaching and organised crime, resulting in prosecution
for lesser offences and commensurate lesser penalties. There are
Adding to this, many fisheries crimes – officially referred to as beacons of hope where stiff penalties have been imposed such
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing – continue to be as by the court in Humansdorp thanks to a dedicated prosecutor.
dealt with as a fisheries management issue, resulting in less severe
penalties that are not having a deterrent effect. “Law enforcement agencies are not using the full power of the law
to address the poaching of marine living resources as a priority
The only cases that could have a deterrent effect if they became crime and do not allocate their resources commensurate with
the norm are major abalone (perlemoen) racketeering cases in the value of the commodity. As a country that is beleaguered by
South Africa that have been prosecuted as organised crime, with fisheries crime, overfishing and exploitation, South Africa must take
sentences of 18 to 20 years. a tough stance and should pursue criminal organisations with all
the power that the state can muster. This gives rise to the question
FishFORCE is further appealing to the South African government whether FCOs are best suited as a unit of DAFF or whether
to put pressure on landlocked countries such as Lesotho and they should become a specialised unit of the SAPS dedicated to
Zimbabwe to adopt laws against the export of poached marine addressing fisheries crime. These officials are primarily fulfilling
produce. a policing function and placing them within the SAPS might also
assist in bringing the unit under the oversight of bodies such as the
“Corruption is a serious, pervasive problem,” says Prof van As. Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).”
“Recently, nine FCOs who were employed as compliance officers
by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF
– now DFFE) were arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crimes
Investigation (“the Hawks”) on charges of being directly involved
in organised crime syndicates pertaining to abalone poaching.
New legal developments in
“While this and other evidence demonstrates the presence of
active organised crime, corruption and misadministration within the combating fisheries crime
department that is expected to protect the marine living resources,
passive corrupt acts have also taken root. This can take the form FishFORCE’s research resulted in the development
of overlooking a violation or failing to inspect vessels with due of charge sheets and statements for charges to be
diligence, often in exchange for gratification. This ‘culture of non- brought for attempted poaching and conspiracy
compliance’ has had negative consequences on several fronts. to commit a crime if culprits are caught with the
implements used to remove abalone as there is a
“Our country is losing billions of rand in revenue and our national ‘no take’ policy in place for this species.
marine resources are being decimated. Far more stringent laws,
combined with specialised policing and intelligence gathering
for fisheries organised crime and harsh sentences, need to be
prioritised at a national and international level.”

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