Good catch even more special if it is released

THERE have been some good catches made this past period, with reports of good galjoen, pig-nosed grunter (very controversial on social media about keeping), shad, kob from the surf and lots of reef fish from the deep-sea fellows around St Francis Bay.

One particularly notable catch was that of Nathan Broedelet, who landed two kob on the surf back to back.

The larger was 1.4m and the other 1.3m, and the estimated weights were about 28kg. This is a once-in-a-lifetime catch and what makes it even more special is that both fish were released afterwards.

Do note how carefully the fish is being handled in the picture. It has been laid out and not suspended by its gills as is the popular pose many anglers choose. However, this will hurt the larger fish and reduce significantly their chances of survival if the fish are to be released.

Another local angler, Werner Coetzee, has been named the top “tag and release” angler for the Oceanic Research Institute based in Durban. He managed to tag a remarkable 311 fish last year.

This means a considerable conservation input by one angler alone (there are many others too). Most of those fish will breed further, enhancing fish stocks. We certainly need more anglers like this.

The bad news is there have been two separate oil spills in the bay, which have placed our penguins and other marine birds in the crossfire.

Please take care of any affected birds you might find while out angling. The advice is not to handle these birds yourself, as they do bite and can injure you, but rather to call (041) 583-1830, and Samrec at Cape Recife will collect the bird for cleaning.

Feedback on the spills is that a fine has been issued and a further fine is pending, based on tests being conducted on a suspected Turkish vessel held in Cape Town. Should the samples match, then another set of fines are in the pipeline.

These fines are substantial and further clean-up funding is being sought from these negligent operators. Some time ago in this column I mentioned this re-fuelling practice and the possible impact it could have on our environment.

We have a renowned spill specialist in the bay as a bonus. However, these fines cannot nearly be in proportion to the cost of clean-up and damage done.

My thoughts about this re-fuelling technique is that it comes with a risk and should be covered by penalties that give consideration for fuelling to be conducted in port as opposed to out at sea.

Spills in port would be easier to manage, though, of course, the transfer of fuel at sea is certainly more economically viable for fleet owners. Responsibility to the environment should always come first.