The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) wishes to announce the 2017/18 recreational fishing season for west coast rock lobster (WCRL).
The 2017/18 WCRL recreational fishing season will open on Saturday, 2 December 2017 and will close on Monday, 2 April 2018. Based on the unchanged TAC of 69.2 tons for the recreational fishing sector, the 2017/18 WCRL recreational fishing effort will remain at 21 days and will be split as follows, following consultations:
- Fishing allowed from 2 December 2017 to 3 December 2017 (2 days)
- No fishing allowed from 4 December 2017 until 8 December 2017
- Fishing allowed from 9 December 2017 to 10 December 2017 (2 days)
- No fishing allowed from 11 December 2017 until 15 December 2017
- Fishing allowed from 16 December 2017 to 17 December 2017 (2 days)
- No fishing allowed from 18 December 2017 until 22 December 2017
- Fishing allowed from 23 December 2017 to 26 December 2017 (4 days)
- No fishing allowed from 27 December 2017 until 29 December 2017
- Fishing allowed from 30 December 2017 to 1 January 2018 (3 days)
- No fishing allowed from 2 January 2018 until 5 January 2018
- Fishing allowed from 6 January 2018 to 7 January 2018 (2 days)
- No fishing allowed from 8 January 2018 until 12 January 2018
- Fishing allowed from 13 January 2018 to 14 January 2018 (2 days)
- No fishing allowed from 15 January 2018 until 29 March 2018
- Fishing allowed from 30 March 2018 to 2 April 2018 (4 days)
Attention is also drawn to Regulation 51, issued under the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 (MLRA), which provides that only persons over the age of 12 years may obtain from any authorized office, a recreational fishing permit to engage in fishing, collecting, keeping, controlling, landing or transporting of, or to be in possession of not more than four WCRL per day subject to the payment of R94 per permit (R7 application fee and R87 permit fee) as determined by the Minister under section 25 of the MLRA and published under Government Notice No. 795 in Government Gazette No. 33518 of 10 September 2010. Permits are valid for the entire west coast rock lobster recreational fishing season.
Fishing times for WCRL will be from 08h00 until 16h00 and the bag limit is four per person per day and the size restriction is 80 millimetres carapace length. No person catching WCRL with a recreational fishing permit may sell his/her catch and any WCRL caught, collected or transported must be kept in a whole state.
A maximum of 20 WCRL’s may be transported per day on condition that all the persons who caught such WCRL’s are present in the vehicle, vessel or aircraft during transportation and that such persons are in possession of WCRL recreational fishing permits.
Recreational west coast rock lobster permits are obtainable at the Post Office and at Customer Service Centre at the DAFF, Fisheries Branch on the Ground Floor, Martin Hammerschlag Street, Foretrust Building, Foreshore, Cape Town.
For further information please contact:
Wendy West, Deputy Director: Large Crustaceans Fisheries Management
Directorate: Inshore Fisheries Management
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Phone: +27 021 402 3120
E-mail: WendyW@daff.gov.za
For media enquiries please contact:
Carol Moses, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Phone: +27 21 402 3448
Email: CarolMO@daff.gov.za
Always ensure that you confirm with your local fishery office, catch time and catch limits.
We urge all to refrain from fishing for rock lobster in the Betty’s Bay Marine Reserve. Should you catch a lobster with eggs on it, please place it back into their natural habitat to ensure sustainability.
Please report any illegal fishing to:
Marine Anti-Poaching Unit: 0609072326
Sea Watch: 0829949300
DAFF: 0283132703
Cape Nature: 0283140062
SAPS: 0282718202
Overstrand Emergency: 0283138111