Extent of perlemoen poaching activity revealed

The price of perlemoen increased exponentially post Covid-19 and — with that — came an increase in perlemoen poaching in Nelson Mandela Bay, particularly at the Swartkops Estuary. This according to anti-poaching specialist group Dark Water Ops’ boss Nicky Erasmus, who says on a good night, “with perfect diving conditions, you’re looking at in excess of 20 rubber ducks chasing up and down Swartkops”. “Then you’ve got your shore divers that dive from shore, say from Cape Recife area to Bushy Park area, there you’re looking at 300 or 400 poachers a night, so it’s a big problem at the moment.” In Behind The Herald Headlines with Daron Mann this week, we speak to Erasmus. We also speak to Zwartkops Conservancy operations manager Femke de Wet, who says the estuary urgently needs greater law enforcement to clamp down on the perlemoen poaching scourge. The Herald