An Abalone (Haliotis midae) smuggling syndicate is using Zimbabwe as a transit route for the valuable marine snails from South Africa to other countries, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has revealed
Abalone, a family of reef-dwelling marine snails, are a lucrative export commercial fishery that can sell between USD700 and USD2000 per kilogram.
In a statement released yesterday, CNRG revealed that up to 400kg of Abalone have so far been intercepted en-route to other countries.
“Recently, on two separate occasions, over 400kg of Abalone were intercepted at Beitbridge Border post and at Robert Mugabe International Airport. The cargo intercepted at RG International Airport was destined for China while the one intercepted at Beitbridge port was destined for Zambia.
“In both instances, the dried Abalone was seized by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) under the Customs and Excise Act. Frank Matavise and Rockdont-Yang Kasese were arrested at Beitbridge Border post and their South African registered truck impounded,” the statement reads.
However, when taken to court, the duo was granted bail by a Beitbridge magistrate. On the 7th of July, the owners of the cargo that was confiscated at Beitbridge border post approached the High Court, and a ruling by Justice Webster Chinamora ordered ZIMRA to release the smuggled goods to the accused.
In reaction, CNRG said, “the High Court ruling raises suspicion that this could be a well-oiled syndicate involving various arms of the state and agencies of the government.”
As the Illicit trade in wildlife and wildlife products becomes a growing problem CNRG Director, Farai Maguwu said Zimbabwe needs to play its part in curbing wildlife trafficking by plugging porosity at the ports of entry and exit.
“Zimbabwe is increasingly becoming a transit route for wildlife and wildlife products traffickers. These are taking advantage of lax security at the ports of entry and exit. There is therefore a need to strengthen the capacity of immigration officials and security agencies to better appreciate how these crimes compromise biodiversity.
There is also a need to deal with corruption in the judiciary, ZIMRA, immigration and law enforcement agencies,” said Maguwu.
Although not on the Red List, the South African Abalone is facing the threat of extinction. An estimated 40,000 tons of Abalone have been harvested from South African waters since 2001, a figure which is 10 times the legal quota set by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to prevent complete extinction within about a decade.
