A booming hobby, drone fishing is now banned in South Africa, reports the South African weekly Mail & Guardian. On April 12, a court in Pretoria dismissed drone manufacturers who challenged an Environment Ministry memo banning the use of motorized gear for angling. Justice agreed with the South African government, which believes that the practice increases the pressure on certain endangered species.
Drone fishing consists of hauling a line and its bait with a drone, so as to fish as far as possible while remaining on the coast most often. The bait is released by the drone once the prey is spotted. The technique makes it possible to lift large catches, such as sharks normally impossible to reach from the water’s edge. It also multiplies the efficiency of fishermen, who can drop the bait with precision a few meters from a prey spotted from the air.
The worried method
The practice has exploded in particular in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa since around 2015. During the last “sardine run” in South Africa, a migration that sees billions of sardines dragging sea lions, sharks, rays, dolphins in their wake