#SunrisePhotography: This would have been a sunrise post, instead lets talk about illegal fishing

FOR those that haven't figured it out by now, I 'suffer' from some mild insomnia and as such, barely get any sleep - most days, I am lucky if I get an hour or two in but yet, I don't mind, especially being that I get to see the moments most people don't.

This morning was no exception and, as you will see at the end of this article, the sun really put on a spectacular display for me, and some of the fishermen who had already made their way to the beach to get their catch of the day.

Some boats also launched however, that was when it was still way too dark to even attempt snapping a shot of them - they'll be heading out to sea to catch what is called, the greatest shoal - sardines, and they come by the thousands.

Sardine run continues on upper South Coast – more netting expected

A pity though, that the last few years have seen a large scale reduction in these splendid little fish, which go for quite a price when caught.

Locals and holidaymakers alike enjoy the splendid sight and have no issue paying around R500 a crate for sardines.

#SardineSeason 2018: Search for sardines has started

Sardines are often used in a variety of recipes however, the best recipe I have come across can be found right here and I promise, if you can get your hands on some of the sards, use this recipe: Grilled Sardines With Lemon, Garlic, and Paprika Recipe

Tragically, as mentioned earlier, there has been a visible reduction in the last few years of these fish specifically, with most winters not having seen any spill out to shore - years back, the fish would quite literally end up on beaches all by themselves and scores of children would rush to the shore to try and catch as many as possible.

Sardine Run 2018: First monitoring flight reports back

The blame, with regard to the lack of the fish, is said to lie solely on Japanese and Chinese fishing trawlers, who have often been found fishing illegally in South African waters with some trawlers even switching off their transponders - which means that these vessels cannot be monitored properly.

Here are some of the articles I've written with regard to the illegal activities:

Chinese fishing trawlers spotted off Shelly Beach

Update: Chinese trawlers released

Government however, is doing what it can with its 'limited' resources - Ruth is watching…

Currently, at the time of writing, there were only four fishing vessels along our coastline, however, at times there have been as many as 11 foreign fishing vessels in our waters - sometimes more.

Sri Lanka's water were also heavily infested this morning - have a look for yourself below:

Now, if you think the issue really doesn't seem as bad as I am making it out to sound, have a look at what open waters near Australia looks like:

Every orange marker, is a fishing vessel - which is quite shocking if you have to think about it.

Foreign fishing vessels the world over haul fish until their storage compartments have been filled and only then return to deliver their catch otherwise, they lose out on the amount of money they would have received, were the load delivered less than what was 'required'.

In South Africa, this has been seen on more than one occasion, especially in one case when a Japanese trawler was escorted to port by authorities - during an investigation it was revealed that the vessel had caught in excess of what was allowed (as well as fished within a marine protected area) a variety of fish, including shark without releasing them.

The effects may not be 100% linked to over fishing resulting in our part of the world having seen a reduction in sardines annually however, it may be surmised as highly likely - the more we take, the less there will be as a result of the decrease in reproduction.

The fault does however, not only lie with foreign fishing vessels but also with local fishermen who disregard the law entirely - such was the case in 2016 when two fishermen had illegally caught 10 black musselcrackers, despite only being allowed to catch one each.

At the time, the duo had claimed that there had been more fishermen aboard the vessel however, the vessel had only been licensed to carry a certain amount of people, and the amount claimed was nowhere near that which would allow the catching of the 10 fish. The vessel, which was not even registered as a commercial fishing vessel, is only allowed to carry five people, of which one is the skipper.

The fish caught had just entered the breeding period - when these fish go into breeding season, they can only be found within one of the local marine protected areas, which is where the fishermen were found to have fished.

They disputed this and, when authorities went to investigate the launch site from which they claimed to have launched, the manifest had gone missing - this supposedly, is a common occurrence.

A conservationist who spoke to me at the time revealed that it was very possible that the damage caused through the excessive catching of these fish, could have resulted in some 300 years worth of species being eradicated.

For the full article I wrote: Coastal waters pillaged by poachers

Long story short, enjoy the photos:

Above: My entry into the photography contest hosted by @photocontests