‘Illegal’ crayfish raid goes to high court
A WILD Coast restaurant owner who claims he legally bought 97kg of locally sourced crayfish is up in arms after his freezer was carted off by sea fisheries officials and his holiday season stock confiscated.
Peter Woodford, who recently opened the Waterfront Restaurant in Port St Johns, yesterday said he was still battling to get back the 272 crayfish seized more than three weeks ago despite producing receipts proving they were legally harvested.
According to Woodford, demands to return the crayfish have fallen on deaf ears and he now has been forced to employ legal counsel to challenge the decision in the Mthatha High Court.
Attempts by the Daily Dispatch to get an explanation from Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) national spokesperson, Palesa Mokomele, on why the crayfish were seized and had still not been returned proved fruitless yesterday.
She said Woodford would have to send them a copy of the receipt despite the details being taken down when officials visited the business.
Luzuko Buku, acting spokesman for environmental affairs and tourism MEC Sakhumzi Somyo, yesterday said they were not specifically aware of the incident at Waterfront Restaurant.
He said they had asked Daff for clarity on the issue.
Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday, Woodford said he legally bought more than R15 000 crayfish from local exporter Live Fish Tanks in Mthatha last month as he wanted to offer the local delicacy without breaking the law.
He said the Live Fish Tanks lobster supply was a local resource that was legally harvested on the Wild Coast by marginalised subsistence fishers who benefited from the sales.
Woodford said the resource met Government Gazetted limits when it came to the minimum size of each crayfish and that a bag limit of eight a day had been imposed on the subsistence fishermen who harvested it.
A Port St Johns resident since 2003, over the years Woodford has started several small local businesses that have empowered his staff. Some are now partners in his operations.
Woodford said his advocate approached the high court yesterday for an order compelling the department of fisheries to return the crayfish.
Greg Nobel of Live Fish Tanks yesterday said the crayfish sold were “100% legal” and that he had the paperwork to prove it. —