Metro drops in on surfers at Umdloti, issue R2 000 fines

A group of surfers were caught and fined for contravening lockdown regulations in Umdloti on January 17.

The group was not caught in the water, but in a forest path near the beach by officers from Ethekwini Metro.

This was the second case of surfers being reprimanded after Umdloti local Kelly Kellerman had his board seized on January 13.

Five members of the surfing party were fined R2 000 each for contravening the Disaster Management Act and surfers under the age of 18 were given a warning.

“We have seen a number of people in beachfront areas who are trying to find ways around the law,” said Durban metro police spokesperson Sen-Supt Parboo Sewpersad.

“Whether it be surfers or groups of fishermen without licences, our patrols have been seeing people on the beaches daily.”

Beaches in hotspot areas around the country have been closed since December 29 and surfing has been outlawed as a result.

“I think it is ridiculous that they have been fined when there are far better places to allocate resources. I hope they are let off from the fines,” said Ward 58 councillor Geoff Pullan.

Though there will be no further prosecution of the surfers, there is a chance that they will have a criminal record as a result, said Sewpersad.

“It is under the jurisdiction of the National Prosecuting Authority, so any further steps are in their hands,” he said.