Anglers urged to stick to new fishing limits

Anglers and ski-boat fishermen have been urged to educate themselves about several changes to fishing bag and size limits gazetted by the government to protect and rebuild threatened fish stocks.

Some of the most notable changes involve a reduced daily bag limit for shad, new size and bag limits for kob and protective measures for popular bait fish such as mullet and karanteen.

A number of fish, including seahorses, pipefish and basking sharks have also become specially protected and cannot be caught, sold or kept.

The provincial nature conservation agency, Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, said the new regulations would be enforced with immediate effect, although officials were also producing and distributing awareness pamphlets to help anglers learn about and interpret the new regulations.

Published earlier this month in Government Gazette No 27453, the regulations apply to all recreational shore-based and ski-boat fishermen.

Spokesperson Wayne Munger said his agency welcomed the long-delayed changes which had been conceptualised during former environment minister Valli Moosa's tenure.

"It follows the declaration of an emergency in the linefish sector and an attempt to rebuilt threatened fish stocks. While every effort will be made to assist anglers, the onus will be on individuals to ensure that they abide by the new laws."

For shad, the bag limit has been reduced from five to four fish per person per day during the open season (December 1 to September 30).

The closed season for shad has been shortened by one month and will now run from October 1 to November 30.

For kob species (caught in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape) only five can be taken per person per day. Four or five can be between 40 and 110cm and only one may be over 110cm.

However, for kob species (taken by anglers from the shore and estuaries of KwaZulu-Natal or the Eastern Cape), only one of these fish can be taken and must be longer than 60cm.

The regulations create a new "permitted" list of fish, which contains about 80 species, as well as a "prohibited" list of fish which can be neither caught, sold nor kept.

The bag limit for yellowbelly rockcod is one fish per person per day.

For rays, sharks and skates only one specimen of each species can be taken per day.