An undisclosed amount of abalone bags have been stolen from the Department of Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries’ abalone storage facility in Paarden Island in Cape Town‚ the department revealed on Monday. It said a group of armed and masked men had overpowered security personnel tasked with protecting the storage facility on Thursday and made off with bagsof abalone that were in storage.The abalone that was stolen had been confiscated by the department during operations aimed at curbing illegal fishing of abalone in the province.Minister Senzeni Zokwana condemned the theft and urged law enforcement agencies to move swiftly to arrest those responsible for the crime.“Abalone is one of the important species that form part of our oceans’ economy. It is important that we protect it from illegal fishing. Our efforts to do so will not be derailed by thugs who want to steal resources meant for the development of our people and economy‚” Zokwana said.“The Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA) is anchored on the sustainable use of the Marine Living Resources including protection services. It is therefore important to note that although Section 63 of the MLRA allows for the sale of confiscated Marine products‚ this was intended for good will of reinvesting the proceeds from the sale of confiscated fish towards the fight against illegal fishing‚” the minister’s spokesperson‚ Bomikazi Molapo‚ said.“However this may have been open to abuse which has the potential to encourage corruption and collusion. As a department our efforts should be focused on prevention of poaching by improving our efforts of protection of Marine Resources rather than confiscation of poached goods‚” Molapo added.The minister planned to review the process of selling and storage of the confiscated abalone by the department‚ including options to outsource the function completely or in part or even stop the selling‚ Molapo said.Acting Deputy Director General of Fisheries‚ Ms. Siphokazi Ndudane‚ said the police and the Hawks were investigating the incident.“We encourage community members to provide any information that may lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.”..