The Slippery Slope to Poaching, Gangs and Triads

A fascinating revelation of the defining moment in the history of the abalone fishery that was the fuse that ignited illegal fishing and elevated poaching to another level of gangs and triads. This is Part 1.

Gangs have been part of our disadvantaged communities since the District Six era and have become an integral component of today’s society. The definition of gangsters in a U.N. conference definition is an organised crime group as one made up of three or more persons who work together for a period of time to commit one or more serious crime.

Abalone poachers, even though they can be labeled under this definition, operate under two different categories. Some are mainly illegal fish harvesters not involved in any other criminal activities, and the other interlinked with the gangster environment and its anti-social behaviour. They co-exist under an informal fellowship that binds them together in order to evade the law enforcement agencies.