28 June 2019, Johannesburg: Responding to news that a second humpback whale has died off the coast of False Bay from being entangled in octopus fishery nets, Melita Steele, Senior Climate and Energy Campaign Manager for Greenpeace Africa, has said:
“We cannot sit back and just allow these senseless and gruesome whale deaths to continue. Endangered whales have many obstacles to face today – the climate crisis, pollution, ocean acidification, and overfishing, which threatens their food supply. Hundreds of whales around the world become entangled in fishing gear every year. Clearly, entanglement in octopus fishery nets has become a death sentence for whales in South African waters.
Greenpeace Africa supports the call by the City of Cape Town for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Creecy to urgently declare a moratorium on the Exploratory Octopus Permit until a solution that protects whales while allowing sustainable octopus fishing can be found.[1] All of the entanglements from the last two weeks have occurred within a Marine Protected Area, and it is clear that Minister Creecy must take action to avoid more whale deaths.”
Notes to the editor:
- City of Cape Town statement: http://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/City%20calling%20for%20a%20moratorium%20on%20octopus%20fishing%20after%20killing%20of%20another%20whale
Contact details:
Mbong Akiy, Head of Communications – Greenpeace Africa, [email protected], 0716881274