Jose is a hake longline skipper who has been instrumental in conducting trials and testing bycatch mitigation measures on his boat. These trials which involved many trips to sea at his cost where conducted to increase the rate at which his gear sinks to get it out of the reach of vulnerable seabirds as quickly as possible and to test the effectiveness of tori lines. He has also made his vessel, Seapride II, available to the press and media for photo shoots and interviews; all for educational purposes to inform the consumers and fellow fishers about responsible fisheries.
Champion skipper: Jose Fransisco
Champion Skipper Louis Coetzee
Our first Champion Skipper is Louis Coetzee, skipper of the Sea Harvest hake trawler Harvest Gardinia,. Louis has been in the fishing industry for 40 years, and attended the WWF RFP training course with enthusiasm and a commitment to implement what he learnt about saving albatross.
“I look at the seabirds with new eyes now. It’s important to teach the younger ones what you know” says Louis this referring to what he learned in the WWF RFP training about the biology and importance of seabirds.
“I look at the seabirds with new eyes now. It’s important to teach the younger ones what you know” says Louis this referring to what he learned in the WWF RFP training about the biology and importance of seabirds.
WWF Champion Skipper
This initiative recognises and applauds fishers who are making changes over and above what is required of them, to ensure healthy marine ecosystems and the benefits we derive from them.
Those at sea working directly with our marine resources have the power to inspire and directly implement change in the fishing industry. It is for this reason that the WWF Responsible Fisheries Programme (RFP) has initiated a project whereby individuals who are making significant changes in the fishing industry are recognised and acknowledged.Every second month, WWF RFP chooses a champion whose story inspires change in the fishing industry, and profiles them in Fishing Industry News. Champions are chosen because their actions show they are committed to responsible fishing and are working towards a better, sustainable future.
We encourage all fishers to send in your stories about how things are changing in your fishery, and how you are having an impact.
Our latest Champions
Tuna pole Skippers Steven Cameron Dow and Mark Pretorius, has made a rather simple change with larger consequences. After attending the Responsible Fisheries training course, Steven and Mark attached portable ashtrays to their boat. Now, instead of risking cigarette butts being tossed overboard, Steve and Mark ensure that all cigarette butts get disposed on land and cannot spoil our oceans. Cigarette butts are the most common litter found in our oceans, with half a million butts reaching the Los Angeles coast every month! Cigarette butts in our seas will last for 12 years or more, constantly being circulated by our ocean currents. They can harm a variety of animals including seabirds and small fish; it spoils habitats and will have a negative impact on fish stocks through food web impacts. Litter also has a large economic impact such as lost revenue through poor tourism opportunities and increasing costs of litter clean ups. A small change such as Steve and Mark’s,to prevent cigarette butts littering the ocean, can and will make a dent not only in those half a million butts found in Los Angeles each month, but in the litter found around our coast as well.This is the type of commitment that WWF recognises and hopes to promote through the Champion Skipper programme. We hope that the stories of these skippers inspires others to make changes – big or small – to ensure we all have fish in the future.