A billion-rand black market for perlemoen is devastating Nelson Mandela Bay's coastline and powering organized crime in South Africa. The illegal trade strips the delicacy from ocean floors, with impacts extending to the broader criminal network. Daily Maverick journalist Riaan Marais investigates the issue.
Perlemoen, a prized delicacy, is at the center of a lucrative illegal trade valued in billions of rands along South Africa's Nelson Mandela Bay coastline. Poachers are depleting the abalone populations, causing environmental harm that reaches beyond marine ecosystems. This black market activity is deeply intertwined with South Africa's criminal underworld, providing funding and operations for organized crime groups, including those known as Dark Water Ops.
Riaan Marais, reporting for Daily Maverick, highlights how the trade's damage extends far beyond the ocean, exacerbating social and security challenges in the region. The multimedia investigation, filmed by Malibongwe Tyilo and produced by Emilie Gambade, underscores the scale of the problem in Nelson Mandela Bay, a key area for this illicit industry.
Edited by Joel Seboa and subedited by Ian Wolstenholme, the piece was published on December 3, 2025. It calls attention to the need for stronger measures against this underworld economy, which threatens both biodiversity and community safety.