Kelp that was harvested on the beach yesterday. Photo: Provided

A team harvesting kelp on Melkbosstrand beach yesterday afternoon caused a bit of an upset. On the one side were the kelp harvesters and on the other side were officers from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries who came to check up on them.

Tempers flared, but the arrival of Councillor Nora Grose and the head of the Melkbosstrand Ratepayers Association Smokie la Grange defused the situation.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries verified that the team has a valid permit to harvest kelp on Melkbosstrand beach, and that the permit only expires in March 2017. The supervisor of the kelp harvesters works for a Mr Van Schalkwyk from St Helena Bay.

In order to avoid future upset it was suggested that the supervisor will in future “take the permit to the Melkbosstrand police station upon arrival so that it can be logged in the Occurrence Book.”