By Bev Mortimer: Breaking whale watching rules can land you in jail
Whale watchers, who approach whales closer than 300m, have been ordered to stop doing so immediately. Otherwise they face a fine of R300 000 or two years imprisonment and the possibility of their boats or jet skis being confiscated.
This follows complaints last month when whales with their calves were reportedly harassed at Anne Avenue and at the Kromme River mouth by people on jet skis, rubber ducks and ski boats approaching them closer than 300m. The whales later left the areas.
In a strongly worded letter sent by email, Dr Alan Boyd, the Acting Director: Coastal and Biodiversity Conservation, Department of Environmental Affairs, laid down the law for St Francis Bay. He warned that the Department will not hesitate to institute criminal proceedings to those breaking the relevant rules contained in the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998.
Boyd said that it had come to his attention that a few individuals in St Francis Bay are approaching whales with jet skis at a distance closer than 300m and have harassed them, possibly causing them to depart from the area. He wrote that approaching whales or dolphins closer than 300m and harassing whales or dolphins is illegal.
Boyd also said that if one has a whale watching permit one can approach whales more closely, up to 50m, and there is only one whale watching permit holder in St Francis Bay.
In his email letter, written on a Department of Environmental Affairs letterhead, dated 29 September 2011, and sent from his Cape Town Waterfront office on Saturday night to some members of the media , local community leaders, organisation representatives, the SAP and Tourism, Dr Boyd asks everyone to report individuals on jet skis or vessels who approach whales closer than 300m, to his Department: bbww@environment.aov.za or contact Dr Alan Boyd on 083 412 3965.
The letter follows in full:
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