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Conclusion
Have the fish declined in volume? In the early 30s I recall virtual mountains of
haarders on the beach at Hout Bay and Woodstock. (Fig. 3.10). The fish were
trekked by purse-seine nets and tons of them were sold to farmers who came down to
buy them as food for their farm workers. They were wind-dried and called bokkoms.
The volk soaked them in warm water to take out the salt and ate them with dry bread
and black coffee, the standard breakfast eaten on farms by the working class.
Where are all these fish today? Has trawling at sea depleted the shoals so that they do
not come in the large numbers anymore? Are there too many vessels trawling in our
waters? Certainly all the foreign fishing fleets who use our docking facilities must
have an effect on the sea life and migration of fish. Is the wheel turning and over-
fishing taking place?
Fig. 3.10: Trek boats on Woodstock beach, c.1910. (W. Cape Archives J 9602.)
