LETTERS: ‘Wall of Death’ nets in Tugela

A private flight over the Tugela River Estuary last Friday revealed that gill nets were seen being extended across the river.
The use of these types of nets, known as walls of death, are banned in all the river systems of KZN. This indiscriminate method of fishing removes those species that use river estuaries for spawning and thus cause major mortality of juvenile fish. Other marine species affected such as prawns also use estuaries for spawning. It is known that at least 80% of all marine fish using the inshore sea littoral come from river estuaries.
With Ezemvelo’s role for the past approximately 66 years in controlling this type of activity now handed over to a government department follows the old adage of Tragedy of the Commons or that which belongs to everyone belongs to no one in terms of natural resource use.
The government must heed the needs of all the people and not allow a few “connected” individuals to illegally squander our natural resources.
Readers should avail themselves to sign the partition circulating favouring the return of Ezemvelo’s authority
KEN DAVIDSON
Durban