The department’s head of fisheries enforcement Ceba Mtoba, highlighted abalone poaching as one of the biggest problems facing the local fishing industry.
Mtoba spoke at an International Symposium on so-called FishCrime underway in Cape Town.
Representatives of more than 30 countries have gathered in Cape Town to tackle crimes facing the fishing industry across the world.
He says abalone poaching is linked to organised crime rings, some of which operate across the seas.
“We’ve a particular species that is being targeted by international syndicates and that is abalone. It’s one of those species that require us to protect because of the condition at sea and also because it’s a main attraction when it comes to criminal syndicates.”
