WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?
The Story behind the Perlemoen and Perlemoen Fund
I have spent much time on this coast since a young child, and have always collected Perlemoen and pumpkin shells, as have holiday makers and local people for decades.
Perlemoen poaching has become more brazen and more noticeable with each passing year, and not long ago, we found a pile of empty shells on a quiet beach near a rocky outcrop. The reef had been stripped in a single spring tide (a few nights) and there were more than 1300 empty, discarded shells.
Perlemoen poaching
South Africa has a huge Perlemoen poaching problem which has destabilised coastal communities because perlemoen is traded for crystal meth, and this is creating a drug problem with the associated social problems and criminality.
Perlemoen numbers are declining rapidly in much poached areas, and the danger is that although they breed well, if populations are constantly decimated, wild populations will struggle to re-establish naturally.
