Historic pictures of the old fishing harbor of Hermanus

Pictures below show the last signs of the once abundant marine biodiversity at Hermanus. After the plundering of natural resources for two Centuries (lasting into the early 20th Century) saw, not only the local extinction of the larger mammals (Elephant, Rhino, Hippo, Buffalo) but the total extinction of the Blou Bok and Quagga from the Cape. The depletion of fish stocks also coincided with the first signs of estuarine ecosystem decay, set in motion by the artificial breaching of the Bot and Klein River Estuaries by traditional seine net fisherman and the the advent of extensive herding of sheep and cattle and agricultural development in the catchment, causing Increasing siltation and nitrate run off into the estuary.

Sport fishing catch predominately Red Steenbras endemic to Cape/Natal. Known to enter deep estuaries. 

Huge unsustainable catch of predominantly juvenile Kabelou (Kob) with no refrigeration meant large amount of spoilt catches.

Earliest known picture of the Old Harbor circa 1873