An estimated R628m worth of revenue is lost in illegal perlemoen trade in SA every year.
This emerged in a report, “Empty Shells: An assessment of abalone poaching and trade in southern Africa”, released on Tuesday by TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network.
The report on the illegal perlemoen poaching industry in SA over the past 17 years says that 90% of legal and illegal exports are destined for the Hong Kong area.
The report also found that most illegally harvested perlemoen is dried and transported by air to Hong Kong.
Over the past 17 years, the state has lost more than R10bn – with an annual average loss of R628m.
“In terms of value, the illegal abalone [perlemoen] harvest is on a par with the legal SA squid and rock lobster fisheries – the two largest export fisheries in the country after hake,” the report says.
“The increase in trade of dried South African abalone combined with the high value of the product and the presence of organised crime syndicates suggest that interventions and collaboration at an international level are required.”
The report links the trade to Chinese criminal syndicates that initially traded in shark fins, using crystal methamphetamines as the common payment for perlemoen.
Until recently, the state profited from selling seized perlemoen, dubbed “white gold” because of its pearly flesh.
But attacks in May on a storage facility put a halt to the resale.
“There is almost no domestic market for abalone, and over 95% of production is exported,” the report says.
“As there are no international or national trade regulations applicable to South African abalone in transit or destination countries or territories, illegally harvested abalone that leaves SA can be legally imported by market states.”
The report calls for increased multi-agency collaboration between government departments and “highly recommends” listing the shellfish in terms of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).