Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Dion George has described the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling upholding the ban on the use of drones in fishing operations as a significant victory for the protection of marine ecosystems.
Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Dion George has described the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling upholding the ban on the use of drones, bait-carrying remote-controlled boats and other remotely operated devices in fishing operations as a significant victory for the protection of marine ecosystems.
The SCA decision comes after business entities who manufacture, import, market and sell angling equipment such as bait-carrying drones and other remote-controlled bait-carrying devices argued that they had lost business due to a ruling made in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
The SCA held that recreational anglers were only to use manual methods of fishing.
According to the court documents, the Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Fisheries Management of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) published a notice in which members of the public, recreational anglers and suppliers of fishing equipment were advised that the “use of motorised devises, such as, but not limited to, bait-carrying drones, bait-carrying remote-controlled boats and other remotely operated vehicles, as well as motorised electric reels” are prohibited for angling.
The DDG contended that the notice does not amount to a new law but is a notification to the public that the use of motorised devices such as drones are not permitted when undertaking recreational angling.
The DDG averred that lawful recreational angling may only be conducted by manually operating a rod, reel and line on one or more separate lines to which no more than 10 hooks are attached per line.
The business entities sought that the notice is publicly withdrawn and that it had no legal effect or consequences.
“The appellants alleged that the publication of the notice by the DDG had a devastatingly adverse and negative effect on their businesses.
They experienced a rapid decline in the demand for the drones and other bait-carrying devices. In some instances, orders which had previously been placed for drones were cancelled and other clients demanded that they be reimbursed for past purchases,” court documents read.
George said: “This ruling is a significant victory for the protection of our marine ecosystems and the enforcement of regulations designed to safeguard our natural resources. The use of these devices for fishing has been illegal since 2005 and recreational anglers and members of the public have previously been warned that they could face enforcement action should they be caught using such.”
Gannet SA chief marketing officer Brett Eagle said the drone fishing industry has taken a hard knock with the SCA judgment.
“We have had to close down the South African Gannet website and this affects about R500 000 loss in sales per month. Currently we have hundreds of drones in stock that cannot be sold or marketed locally due to this judgment.
“This is a big hit and tragedy for the drone fishing industry. Multiple businesses have had to close down due to this and has killed an entire industry and will have multiple knock-on effects ... it’s sad as it affected about 5 000 drone fishermen in South Africa,” said Eagle.
Cape Times
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