CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This final chapter contains a set of recommendations that could be implemented to combat the problem of abalone poaching. Besides a summary of the main findings and conclusions that arise from the research, some tentative recommendations are provided, and suggestions for future research are also made.
6.1 Conclusions
6.1.1 Summary of the main findings that arise from the research
6.1.1.1 Environmental crimes
Environmental crimes are often not viewed as serious crimes, even within the criminal law system. This has the result that they do not get priority on the court rolls, and convictions do not result in appropriate sentences.
A recent United Nations report holds that more than two-thirds of the world's fisheries are fully harvested. The South African fisheries sector generates approximately six billion rand per annum and provides employment for more than 20 000 people. The 2012 Status Report shows that abalone stocks remain in a depleted state as the resource continues to decrease as a result of the increasing levels of poaching and ecological factors.249
In recent years, environmental crime has started being recognised as a major area of criminal activity, not only in South Africa, but in the world. Approximately 90% of the world’s Abalone is fished in Southern Africa. Scientists have assessed that abalone will be extinct on South Africa’s Southern Cape Coast by 2034, however, if poaching is not reduced by 58 per cent before then, the end may be nearer than we can imagine.250 Because environmental crimes tend to be crimes of greed, they are strongly associated with other areas of criminal activity, particularly organised and commercial crime.
6.1.1.1.1 Abalone and drugs
As mentioned previously, abalone poaching is connected with the dealing in illicit drugs. Abalone is an easy source of income for buying drugs, which are the main source of income of criminal gangs. There has been a reported increase in the occurrence of drug use in South Africa, especially of methamphetamine. 251 An increase in the demand of drugs results in an inevitable rise in prices. Drug users are forced to secure additional income to finance possible drug price increases. It is argued that the source of this additional finance comes from the dealing in illegal abalone, which in turn has increased abalone poaching. Thus, a fight against abalone poaching must be accompanied by efforts to fight the use of illegal drugs, especially methamphetamine.
6.1.1.1.2 Abalone, corruption and money laundering
Corruption is both a predicate offence and a facilitator of money laundering in the Southern African region. The connection between corruption and money laundering is twofold, in that either the laundered assets are proceeds of corruption, or the process of laundering is facilitated by bribing the police law enforcement agencies or people employed by financial institutions – the very institutions which are expected to detect or prevent money laundering.252
Most of the illegally harvested abalone in South Africa is exported to China and Hong Kong. The export of illegally harvested abalone involves a high-risk procedure for criminals in that they have to deliver the abalone from vast distances and through many processing houses that are monitored by various law enforcement officials. How is it then that abalone is still being smuggled even with the necessary enforcement efforts in place? There have been reports of police vehicles being used to transport poached abalone, while top political figures have also been implicated in illegal abalone schemes. Corruption therefore plays a major role in preventing the actions to combat abalone poaching. Corruption, thus reduces the possibility of prosecution, and thereby encourages the poaching efforts of criminals.
Bribery is another form of corruption which is reported to be prevalent in South Africa. This neutralises the effect of whatever resources are ploughed into strengthening investigative and enforcement capacity, the anti-poaching enforcement officers earn additional income from apprehended poachers whom they set free upon receipt of a bribe. Eventually the poachers internalise the bribes as an ordinary cost of their abalone harvesting activities. Thus, the high incidence of bribery results in increased poaching, leading to over- exploitation of the resource.
6.1.1.1.3 Abalone and fishery policy
"Abalone is delicacy and aphrodisiac in China, could only be legally harvested off the shores of the South Africa coast by those who had obtained a quota or a permit to do so." 253
Although the South African fisheries law enforcement capacity has increased since 2000, particularly as regards special investigations and intelligence gathering, the law enforcers are known to be lax about ensuring that coastal communities abide by the law. 254 Also, due to the lack of visible patrolling, fishermen usually admit that corruption is widespread.255 With the national police commissioner of South Africa arrested for corruption in late 2006, enforcement agencies, especially the police, are mistrusted. Studies have found that half of South Africans have little or no faith in the police force and believe that corruption is rife among police officers. The afore-mentioned lack of confidence in the police coupled with the absence of visible policing has allowed crime in the fishing sector to spiral out of control. In addition, strong fishermen opposition to law enforcement, due to