Cape Town - False Bay anglers came to the Muizenberg Magistrate’s Court where three anglers appeared after they were arrested for suspected drone fishing at Fisherman’s Lane in Strandfontein on Saturday.
The supporters have been struggling with more fishing fines this year and felt the angling community was being targeted.
The anglers said they were aggrieved at having to constantly defend their fishing rights as a result of unclear laws and no signage at their fishing areas that prohibits recreational drone fishing, which was done for sport.
The suspects were provisionally charged with angling outside the perimeters of the Marine Living Resources Act and for not having permits for activities they conducted, which was using drones to fish.
However, the suspects said they had fishing permits, but were at a loss because there were no permits for drone fishing. The matter was postponed to February 8 for further investigation by Magistrate Crystal McKenna.
One of the arrested anglers was 41-year-old Earl Davids, who said: “If I had known this was how events would unfold, I would have never have gone out that day. If you ask people what is the law regarding drone fishing, no one really knows. There were no signs up and apparently it (the area they were in) is a nature reserve, but there was no signage to indicate that either.”
The other arrested anglers were 63-year-old Nazeem Effendi and 39-year-old Sadiq Omar.
Deputy mayor and spatial planning and environment Mayco member Eddie Andrews said the City did not support any illegal fishing activities, and drone fishing was an illegal fishing method in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) spokesperson Albi Modise said: “Given that recreationally fishing with a drone falls outside of the definition of angling, it falls outside of the scope of what is permitted by a recreational fishing permit endorsed for angling. Accordingly, it constitutes fishing without a permit and is illegal.”
Modise said the department released public statements relating to drone fishing and anglers were well aware that these activities were illegal yet continued in defiance of the law.
Arendse said, “We are not ignorant of the law. The law is vague, biased, and used in a discriminatory manner.”
