Cape Point crayfish poachers try to ram rangers' boat on to rocks

Crayfish poachers off Cape Point tried to force a law enforcement boat into the rocks on Wednesday.

Chief Inspector Wayne Dyason of the Cape Town metro police said it happened after officers from the marine unit and National Parks rangers recovered 25 poachers’ nets.

While the officers were returning 400 crayfish to the sea in the Oliphantsbos area of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, "the poachers attempted to run their boat into the officers' boat in an attempt to force them on to rocks", he said.

"The officers managed to thwart this attempt to intimidate them and continued removing the nets from the sea after the poachers retreated."

On Tuesday, metro cops and neighbourhood watch patrollers waited for five abalone divers in the St James area to return to the shore, said Dyason.

"When they returned the officers pounced but the divers abandoned their abalone and fled back to sea where they disappeared into the night." About 400 abalone were recovered.

Another 12 abalone and a crayfish were retrieved from the rocks near Camps Bay on Tuesday after metro cops disrupted a poaching operation, said Dyason.