Holiday harvests threaten octopuses

Every summer, as holidaymakers and new residents flock to the Garden Route coastline, a quieter and far more troubling trend plays out along our rocky shores.

- Jeff Ayliffe

Beneath the surface of popular intertidal areas such as Gericke's Point in Sedgefield, the common octopus' numbers are declining at an alarming rate. While harvesting remains legal under the current permit system, mounting evidence suggests that cumulative human pressure, rather than isolated overfishing, is steadily eroding the biodiversity and resilience of these fragile marine ecosystems. Without a shift in how we view and use our coastal resources, the very natural beauty that draws people to the Garden Route could be placed at risk.