Abalone poaching, methamphetamine use, criminal activity in South Africa and the associated implications for resource management Draft (original) (raw)
Related papers
The illegal exploitation of abalone in South Africa has been escalating since the early 1990s. The South African government issued a ban on all wild abalone fishing in South Africa, effective 1 February 2008. This study explores the relationship between abalone poaching, use of the methamphetamine drug, criminal activity in the coastal communities of South Africa, and the associated implications for the management of the abalone resource. The study formulates a model which is used to identify and appraise the likely effects of various policy instruments in curbing abalone poaching. Like many other studies, this paper also suggests increases in anti-poaching enforcement and fines as one way to curb illegal harvesting. However, the paper also argues for more measures to curb illegal abalone harvesting in the South African context. The paper puts forward the role of drugs, general corruption, the prevalence of bribery, and the high-value of the abalone as possible explanations as to why poaching has continued unabated. Two suggestions of dealing with abalone poaching are exterminating the demand side through targeted enforcement, and ceding the resource to the local coastal communities. However, local communities would need to be empowered to deal with interest groups with access to instruments of violence. Complimentary measures to bring back community patriotism will also be needed given the tattered social fabric of the local coastal communities.
Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 2018
The poaching or the illegal harvesting of Abalone has for many years been endemic along South Africa's coastline and is the biggest threat to the continued survival of Abalone in the wild in its seas. Over the last 25 years, Abalone, once abundant, has been poached to the verge of commercial extinction. As a criminal enterprise Abalone poaching has become a well-planned, highly lucrative, illicit industry, controlled by organized crime syndicates, with large numbers of Abalone being harvested and poached illegally every year. Ninety-five percent of the poached Abalone in South Africa is smuggled out of the country to countries in SouthEast Asia, where it is a high-priced delicacy. This paper examines some of the factors driving the demand-supply dynamics, modus operandi, syndicate networks and smuggling routes concerning Abalone poaching in South Africa and the authorities' efforts to combat it. Policing of this maritime crime presents its own set of obstacles and difficulties compounded by lack of funds; antipathy of communities dependent on Abalone poaching for economic survival; disbandment of special abalone anti-poaching task forces; high levels of corruption and even collusion between police and poaching syndicates.
Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 2018
The poaching or the illegal harvesting of Abalone has for many years been endemic along South Africa's coastline and is the biggest threat to the continued survival of Abalone in the wild in its seas. Over the last 25 years, Abalone, once abundant, has been poached to the verge of commercial extinction. As a criminal enterprise Abalone poaching has become a well-planned, highly lucrative, illicit industry, controlled by organized crime syndicates, with large numbers of Abalone being harvested and poached illegally every year. Ninety-five percent of the poached Abalone in South Africa is smuggled out of the country to countries in South-East Asia, where it is a high-priced delicacy. This paper examines some of the factors driving the demand-supply dynamics, modus operandi, syndicate networks and smuggling routes concerning Abalone poaching in South Africa and the authorities' efforts to combat it. Policing of this maritime crime presents its own set of obstacles and difficulties compounded by lack of funds; antipathy of communities dependent on Abalone poaching for economic survival; disbandment of special abalone anti-poaching task forces; high levels of corruption and even collusion between police and poaching syndicates.
Ocean & Coastal Management, 2011
The rise of organised illegal fishing and trade in abalone from the late 1990s destabilised South Africa's historically stable, quota-managed fishery, culminating in its closure in 2008. The development of the fishery is described in a historical context, including the evolution of South Africa's science-based abalone fishery management system. The diverse suite of responses deployed to combat illegal fishing and the black market trade in abalone are reviewed, including;-fishery reform to expand rights to a greater number of previously disadvantaged fishers, a territorial user rights fishery (TURF) system, special compliance operations and courts, the CITES listing of abalone, and the serial reduction in the TAC, culminating in the controversial and legally contested closure of the fishery. The main causes of the rise of the illegal fishery are diagnosed as 1) the massive increase in the abalone price that occurred in the 1990s triggering an abalone fishing "gold-rush" and 2) the failure of the post-Apartheid fishery reform process to accommodate many traditional fishers in a legal fishing rights framework resulting in them operating outside the formal fishery management system. By contextualising the abalone fishery as a complex system, embedded in South Africa's socio-political setting, we show how the resource focussed fishery management system did not have the capacity to incorporate the powerful social, political and economic drivers determining fisher behaviour. We conclude with the need to revisit South Africa's abalone fishery management paradigm, and argue that a more integrated governance approach is required that takes into account the biological, socio-political and economic factors determining the fishery activities.
Exploring the dynamics of South Africa's illegal abalone trade via routine activities theory
The illicit trade in African wildlife has a lengthy history with devastating effect on select species. While considerable research addresses the impact of the trade on rhinoceros and elephant, the poaching of the reptiles, birds and marine life comprises a significantly greater volume of wildlife yet receives somewhat less attention. To better understand these aspects of the illegal trade, this study focuses on abalone, a highly desired and protected shellfish found off the Western Cape of South Africa and heavily targeted by poachers to meet demand in South Africa and parts of East Asia. Relying on qualitative data from field research, this study examines the nature of the illicit trade including poachers, smuggling techniques and the challenges for enforcement of the conservation laws through the lens of routine activity theory. The results indicate that routine activities theory may provide a viable theoretical construct to better understand the nature of abalone poaching and develop solutions to the problem.
Marine capture fisheries around the world are widely perceived to be in a state of crisis, with growing recognition that conventional resource--centred management strategies are insufficient to counter ongoing problems of overexploitation. This is considered particularly true in the small--scale sector, which employs the overwhelming majority of the world's fishers but has historically been overlooked. To manage marine resources more sustainably, new approaches to fisheries governance have been sought that recognise the complex nature of fisheries systems, paying attention to the social dimensions of fisheries management in addition to important ecological processes.