Only For History Buffs…

If you are interested in HISTORY then there are many fascinating articles on this website to read…

Some typical examples are:

Mention Brian Cohen’s name and anybody who fishes Tuna will probably know who he is. For he is the man that in the early 1970’s got, and has kept, the Africa IGFA (International Game Fish Association) record for the biggest Bluefin Tuna ever caught – all 1047 lb of it – with a rod and reel. He has since gone on to publish several books.
Read Down Memory Lane…Tuna Giants put Fish Hoek Bay on the Map

In 2014, a group of Cape Town-based researchers said they wanted to conduct a unique historical trawl survey experiment. The bold project would regress trawling technology by over a century. It was going to make valid comparisons with trawl surveys conducted about 115 years ago. This article completes this story… Read Recreating an Historical Trawl Survey

There was an era when whales were not celebrated but sacrificed. The following article tells of when whaling was a major international operation focusing mainly on the whaling grounds of the Southern Ocean…. Read Rekindling Memories of Whales and the Whaling Factory Ships at the Cape

Major energy sources such as coal and oil are under increasing scrutiny for lots of reasons. The ships housing the gas-fired power generation capacity (powerships) are supplied with gas from floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), which are in turn supplied with imported liquified natural gas (LNG) from international suppliers on purpose-built LNG carrier ships. This article provides insight about the gas carrier fleet since the first custom-built ship was commissioned nearly 60 years ago. Read Energy Sources that Fired the Growth of a Gas Carrier Fleet

More than 40 years ago, South Africa was at the forefront developing a combination purse seiner/mid-water trawler called the Karibib. Locally built, the Karibib was the first combination purse seiner/mid-water trawler to be operational anywhere in the world. When you read this article about the Karibib, you might ask yourself whether “this idea perhaps wasn’t the way forward?” Read Legendary Purse Seiners. The Karibib Story

A photo on Facebook of the Skulpiesbaai fishtraps near Stilbaai was a reminder of a book a Nelson Mandela Universityacademic has co-authored with local Khoisan chiefs about the first indigenous people of southern Africa. Research revealed precolonial fish traps and nurseries. Read Rich Coastal Heritage of Precolonial Fish Traps and Hatcheries Uncovered

In 2012 the Japanese-registered long liner, Eihatsu Maru, ran aground on Clifton’s 1st beach in Cape Town. Initially a showstopper, it didn’t take long before residents started complaining that their view of the ocean was being impeded and something urgently needed to be done about it. This is an account of what happened… Read From the Archives. The Eihatsu Maru Under Lock and Quay

Best-seller maritime fiction writers would be hard-pressed to come up with a more compelling plot than the astonishing, real-life, Cape Town saga of an allegedly stolen, renamed and re-flagged, fishing vessel, the Naham 4, to avoid detection and capture and continue unabated with her nefarious and illegal, activities. IUU Fishing. The Real-Life Saga of the Stolen, Renamed and Re-flagged Naham 4

Follow the fascinating story of former Cape Town fishing kingpin and convicted rock lobster poacher and smuggler, Arnold Bengis. Back in 2014 the near-octogenarian instituted a further appeal in New York challenging the amount of restitution ordered as well as two court applications in South Africa, the latter against the South African Government for more than USD11 million in damages in ongoing efforts to frustrate or prevent the payment of restitution to this country. Then in an interesting twist, the South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries applied to have a court order granted in 2018 rescinded. Case Study. Lobster Kingpin Sues and Case Study. SA Claims Restitution from Lobster Kingpin and Case Study. Fixing the Wrongs in the Bengis Restitution Case

One of the great South African salvage operations was the refloating of the stranded Ellerman freighter City of Lincoln from a reef off Quoin Point in March 1947. Stout wooden fishing boats from the local fleet were used to land over 3000 tons of cargo. Although it was a thoroughly scientific operation that, sadly it had a tragic twist. This is A Piece of History. How Wooden Fishing Boats Helped a Post World War 2 Salvage Operation

Two hundred years ago people discovered Antarctica – and promptly began profiting by slaughtering some of its animals to near extinction. The whaling grounds were so rich they drew fleets from many nations. But by the 1960s this began to change when whales were revealed to be highly intelligent, sociable creatures that sang in the ocean depths. Read about The Discovery of Antarctica. Profiting by Slaughter

Vetch’s Pier has been in existence since the mid-19th century. One of the largest sub-tidal mussel beds in the entire KZN coastline, it is also the home of millions of other marine creatures which has made it an extremely popular snorkelling hot spot for novice divers, recreational and subsistence fishermen. Some years ago, one man, activist Johnny Vassilaros, took on the controversial former Durban City manager and his cronies at eThekwini Municipality whose grand vision was for a multimillion-rand waterfront development including a new iconic hotel at the mouth of the harbour. The problem was that very little consideration was given to the environment or to the impact this would have on the fishing community or residents of Durban. Read A Piece of History. The Battle to Save Durban Vetch’s Pier

What happened to the former factory of the African Inshore Fisheries Development Corporation (AIF)? This particular factory dates back to the golden era of Velddrif on the Cape west coast. Follow the story of Fish Factories of Yesteryear: AIF, Velddrif, Cape West Coast

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