Picking up crayfish during a red tide is a criminal offence.
Under the Marine Living Resources Act, possession of West Coast rock lobster requires a valid permit—whether commercial, small-scale, or recreational. And the lobster must have been caught legally using a hoop net, ring net, or trap.
A lobster washed up during a red tide meets none of those conditions.
So if someone is caught collecting red-tide kreef from the beach, they are technically contravening the Act and its regulations. The lobster will be confiscated and a fine may be issued if the value of the penalty falls below R5 000.
All of which makes one wonder.
Because while the authorities appear able to enforce the rules against anyone tempted to pick up a dying crayfish, one has to ask: who is protecting the rest of the beach environment?
Take dog owners, for example. On Fish Hoek Beach and other Western Cape beaches, it is not uncommon to see dogs happily doing what dogs do—while their owners stroll on, leaving the evidence behind in the sand.
Have you ever seen someone fined for that?
Many locals say they have not seen a beach inspector once this season.
The absence is noticeable. On a recent walk along a pristine stretch of coastline past Simon’s Town, the sand was dotted with litter—papers scattered by the wind. There was no sign of enforcement. In fact, there was not even a litter bin on the beach.
Where exactly are people expected to throw their rubbish?
Among the debris was an opened double packet of condoms, suggesting that some discreet seaside romance may have taken place. Public intimacy of that kind, technically speaking, is also unlawful.
But again—no enforcement.
The impression is not so much regulation as selective regulation.
The authorities will fine someone picking up a toxic lobster during a red tide—something most people with even basic coastal knowledge know not to touch anyway—but the everyday degradation of the beach environment seems to go largely unchecked.
And that is just the shoreline.
Further out at sea, reports this week indicated that four Chinese vessels were fined for entering South African waters without proper sound signalling equipment. What happens beyond that—on the vast stretches of ocean where fishing fleets operate far from sight—is a much bigger question.
But that is another story.
For now, the smaller question remains closer to home: if the law can reach a person picking up a red-tide kreef, why does it seem to struggle to reach the far more common offenders walking our beaches every day?
Because from the sand underfoot, it often feels like a free-for-all.
