Julian Rademeyer

Research report · TRAFFIC · September 2018 · with Nicola Okes, Markus Bürgener and Sade Moneron

Empty Shells: an assessment of abalone poaching and trade from southern Africa

At least 96 million South African abalone poached in 18 years, as organised syndicates drove the species towards collapse.

By Julian Rademeyer, Nicola Okes, Markus Bürgener and Sade MoneronFirst published by TRAFFICRead on TRAFFICDownload PDF

Context

South African abalone (Haliotis midae) is declining at unprecedented levels, and efforts to curb the illegal trade have largely failed. Poachers take about 2 000 tonnes a year, roughly 20 times the legal catch, in an illicit industry worth an estimated US$60 million or more each year.

The assessment compares global import records for South African abalone with legal production in southern Africa between 2000 and 2016 to estimate the scale of the illegal harvest and trace the routes it takes to market.

Key findings

  • Imports of South African abalone between 2000 and 2016 totalled 55 863 tonnes, far more than the 18 905 tonnes legally produced in southern Africa. The estimated illegal harvest was 36 958 tonnes, or more than 96 million animals.
  • Illegal trade has grown since 2008. In 2016, illegally harvested abalone reached 3 224 tonnes, 64% of that year’s imports and more than 9.5 million animals.
  • The illegal harvest represents a loss of about R628 million a year.
  • Up to 43% of illegally harvested abalone was routed to Hong Kong SAR through sub-Saharan African countries that do not produce it.
  • Dried abalone, usually flown to Hong Kong SAR, is the main product traded.
  • Transit and market states do not require traders to prove that abalone comes from legal fisheries or aquaculture. The species is not listed under CITES, so trade outside South Africa is unregulated.

Recommendations

  • Introduce stricter controls on the trade in South African abalone.
  • List the species in a CITES Appendix, which the report strongly recommends, and focus effort on CITES documentation.
  • Increase collaboration between government departments to address the social, political and economic drivers of the illegal fishery.
  • Coordinate internationally to tackle trafficking.

Watch

Empty Shells: Inside the illegal abalone trade. Video: TRAFFIC

Cite as
Okes, N., Bürgener, M., Moneron, S. and Rademeyer, J. (2018). Empty Shells: An assessment of abalone poaching and trade from southern Africa. Cambridge: TRAFFIC International.