All language subtitles for black.market.with.michael.k.williams.s01e02.480p.hdtv.x264.rmteam

I've been to South Africa
before,

but I'd never seen it
the way I saw it with these --

with these Rastas.

That day changed me.

Pass me the bucket.
I can help.

Pass me the bucket.

♪♪

Abalone is part
of their culture.

How can they not be allowed
to fish that?

Williams: Drug selling not
an option, right?

It's a well-thought-out,
well-organized operation.

I mean, well organized
[bleep] operation, man.

You got in the boat again?
You got in the boat again?

But these men are just a small
part of smuggling network

that stretches halfway
around the world.

[ Door creaks open ]

Our goal is just to simply show
the world a window

as to why people do
the things they do,

where that desperation
comes from.

♪♪

It's like they say,
"When the system fails you,

you create your own system."

[ People singing
in native language ]

[ Dog barks in distance ]

Cape Town, South Africa --

how it be.

[ Barking ]

On my way to meet Angelo,

one of the neighborhood
residents

who poaches for a living.

Blessings!

Man: Rastafari.

What's up? What's up?
Big love! Big love!

-Respect, brother.
-Love to you, man.

Love, love.
Respect, man.

Love. Love. Love. Love.

Love. Love.

Love -- that's all
I can say, man.

It's beautiful.

I've never seen
such beauty, man.

Much younger?

Actually, this is --
this is, um...

Like --
...this is makeup.

[ Laughter ]

Man.

We in Cape Town,
I know that.

So, this area is called
Hout Bay, yeah?

And you guys --
born and raised here?

This is a fishing community,
am I correct?

Man: Yeah. Yeah.

And there was a time where
you weren't allowed

to go in your backyard,
on your beach.

What was that like?

Oh...

What happened to -- to your
livelihood when you --

when they closed the beach,
and you were not allowed

to go to the water to fish?

♪♪

Williams:
If Malibu and Hamptons had
a baby, it would be Hout Bay.

On one side of the mountains
is -- you see the mansions,

and on the other side
is the shantytown,

where most of this --
the community are colors.

Now, is the community poor?

[Bleep] yeah.

Their life and their culture

is to fish from 6, 7 years old,
10 years old.

You know how to jump
in that water

and catch fish with
your bare hands if need be.

You see, but the problem is
that environmental regulations

that are supposed to protect
the sea life

have made it almost impossible
to make a living legally.

Angelo: Let me tell you...

Right?

Why is it illegal for you guys
to make a living at fishing?

Is it because th--

Ah.

Lolli: So, the government --

First of all,
some of the fishermen,

because of illiteracy, don't
even understand the process,

and they -- even if they did,
most likely,

they wouldn't even have the
money to pay for the process.

Williams: What they're
telling me is that --

that the fact that
they're being denied permits

to fish legally is part of
the plan to drive them out

so they can gentrify the area.

Angelo said that
the police came in

and accused the community
of being squatters.

[ Crowd chanting ]

The community rose up.

These roadblocks
you see right here

are right in front
of Angelo's block.

[ Gunshots ]

You were shot seven times?

[ Crowd shouting ]

Williams: Every day for them
to go to work,

they are literally
breaking the law.

They risk drowning, getting
caught by the police,

eaten by sharks.

You know, they're diving 40 feet
with minimal gear.

Man: 13 years old.

I mean,
I can show you more.

All drowned.
All drowned.

Just trying to fish?

Food on the table.

♪♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

-About to dive right now?
-Yeah.

But there's still a chance
that the police

can still run up
on us, though, right?

[ Laughter ]

Man: We just do our thing.
We just do our thing, man.

♪♪

Right now, my brothers
are swimming out

to go meet the boat.

They're 15 black men

in scuba gear getting
on a boat out here.

That would be suspicious,

and there would probably
be arrested,

so they have to go stealth mode,
swim out about 20, 50 yards

and meet the boat out there.

So right now we're about to go
around the other side

and get on the boat
that's waiting for them,

and we gonna go fishing.

As a result of more fishermen
turning to poaching,

the police launched a campaign
to crack down on them.

I've been working
fisheries law enforcement

for a number of years.

You're not allowed to harvest

any marine species
from this area.

This is a patrol vessel from

the Department of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Fisheries,

and they're doing
a visible patrol.

So, we're such a big vessel
and it's highly visible.

The guys know when
the patrols are coming.

It's like the Wild West,
you know?

Here we got 10 boats.

We got two or three
police boats moving around.

The guys are shooting
at the engines,

and -- and it gets pretty rough.

There's no one in
the community that will say

that a marine protected area is
not important for conservation.

The problem
is very little discussion

with the local communities
was done.

That has spurred our community
to be involved in poaching.

Williams: The penalty for
poaching can range from fines

to confiscating their boats,
even jail time.

These fishermen,

they feel like they --
they don't have another way.

Williams: Has it always been to
fish or for other purposes?

Only for fish?
Poaching, yeah.

Ralphie: Because I've been...

Williams: Abalone is like a
giant sea snail, it's --

T-The kind that's found
off the coast

of South Africa and Hout Bay

is considered to be some of
the largest in the world.

Y-You go down there with,
like, a crowbar.

You have to break
the abalone off of a rock.

Just straight up thuggin'.

Fortunately, poaching is not
the only way to get abalone.

♪♪

With the demand so high
and money to be made,

companies started farming
on their own.

To me, farming is the best way

for the community
to legally fish,

but it takes deep pockets.

The process of farming
is pretty simple,

and it's very much the same
on all of the farms.

We have water that's pumped to
shore, fed to all of the tanks.

Once there, it's a very simple
process of feeding, cleaning.

Williams: Abagold runs
the largest abalone farm

in South Africa.

350 employees work here.

Average salary's
about $300 a month.

We do have a big problem with
employment in South Africa.

There's no way to really stop
our poverty that we have here.

The biggest problem is that
they're gonna be making

more money poaching abalone

than going in to working hard
on a farm every day.

Williams: Poachers could
basically make more money

in a day poaching than working
in a farm in a month.

The sad part about it is,
you know,

poaching is destroying
the sea bed.

Every time they dive,

they're literally driving
the species into extinction.

Today, the South African
abalone population

is estimated to be less than 5%
of its original levels.

You could see the circle spots
on the rocks.

That's where the abalone
used to be.

And just -- Like, they're all
over the place.

♪♪

Serge Raemaekers is
an environmental scientist.

He studies abalone poaching.

There's a lot abalone here.

There's a lot of -- a lot of
money lying -- lying here.

Relatively good estimates
of the illegal fish river

are 2,000 to 3,000,
maybe even 4,000 ton

of abalone being exported
out of the country.

This is the biggest
wildlife trade in Africa.

The fishermen who really started
getting some money out of this,

um, they're not gonna stop.

We're heading towards
a social disaster.

The signs are there already,
and it's only getting worse.

Right now, we're in about
40- to 50-feet deep water.

My brothers are in the water
right now diving for abalone,

and we're watching them fish.

We're watching them
go to work, basically.

Unfortunately, we're also
watching them break the law.

[ Chuckles ]

So, my brother Angelo was
telling me about the brothers

that died in this water --
Yeah, that drowned.

Was it out --
right around these areas?

Yeah.
I want to see that, man.

Yeah. Say a little prayer
for them brothers, man.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Williams: We had to cut
the trip short because

a lookout gave
the skipper a call

and alerted us that
we could be seen by the police.

So we had to get out of Dodge.

I think the boys
is out here, bro,

and we got a boat
full of illegal fish.

We then have to go
and dump all the abalone

off into another boat.

We dirty now,
as they say in the street.

Get on! Get on! Get on!

Man: All right.

These young brothers
are shucking them,

placing them in another bag
to give to another brother

who then sells it
to the highest bidder.

I think we should
name him "Louie."

-Yeah.
[ Chuckles ]

Is he still alive?

Can I throw him back
in the water? No, right?

[ Laughs ]
No?

This way now?

♪♪

♪ One, two ♪

Williams: Yes, sir.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[ Laughs ]

-Does it at least get easier?
-Unh-unh.

Williams:
A hike over the mountain,

that was nothing short of
spiritual for me.

The sea, the sun, the mountains,
the camaraderie.

When we got down and started
to walk through the community,

everybody was like
just cheering us on.

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

It didn't hit me till halfway

that the reason why people
were cheering us on

was because it was confirmation
that we weren't shark food

and we didn't get arrested.

Cheers, my friends!
Cheers!

♪♪

What's that --
What is that in pounds?

[ Lolli speaking indistinctly ]

Williams: Yo.
Angelo, so what's up?

What are you all doing
right now?

Williams: They bring the shucked
abalone back to the house

and weigh it out.

The middleman usually comes
and does the weighing there.

The total catch
is worth about $1,600.

Man: Now...

And -- Okay, now,
how do you --

How does that money
get split up?

Who gets --
Who gets the cut,

and how much does
each person get?

Yes, sir.
You want a calculator?

-Mm-hmm.
-Here.

Uh-huh.

Williams:
Angelo will split that cash

based on how much
each guy caught.

-There it is.
-Uh-huh.

Williams: Yes.
The best diver gets $300.

The worst, about $60.

Abalone farm workers
make about $75 a week.

Where does this go next?

The buyer's business.
Yeah.

[ Men singing in
native language ]

Angelo's crew,
they're just a small part

of smuggling network

that stretches halfway
around the world.

[ Singing continues ]

[ People singing
in native language ]

[ Indistinct conversation ]

Williams: These roots, man,
these -- these fishermen,

I believe they
were all just pawns

for a bigger --
a bigger chess game.

In talking with Angelo,
I found out that

the abalone that they poach is

an expensive delicacy
thousands of miles away.

So I wanted to find out
where was it going,

and how did it get there?

So I met up with
this former poacher.

What happens to the fish?

I saw the process of
getting it out of the water,

taking it back the community,
you weigh it,

and then you give it to a broker
or an agent if you were a --

-He -- He's more of a middleman.
-Middleman.

He's -- He's another pawn
in the game, yeah.

Yeah, that's what it precedes --
A pawn, exactly.

So what is the main route
that is taken

to get the fish
out of the country?

Inevitably, they'll end up
at a dry house,

and it becomes 1/3 smaller
and a lot lighter.

If it's dry,
the options are endless.

Yes.
It's like moving
weed across border.

You can get carries to carry it
by plane, by ship.

There is a direct parallel
to the states,

except in-- instead of fish,
it's drugs.

It's a cat-and-mouse game.

Williams: And the number one
destination

for that poached wild abalone

is Hong Kong.

It's imported illegally
by Chinese gangsters.

Abalone has been a delicacy here
for centuries.

It's a sign of wealth and power.

In restaurants, it goes for up
to $500 just for one piece.

That's 20 to 50 times

what the poachers back
in Hout Bay sell it for.

♪♪

Because...

[ Chuckles ]

Woman: We eat?

Williams: Angelo, man, I just
want to say thank you, man,

you know, for letting me
experience a day in your life.

You know, I mean, this is, um --

I don't know about y'all, but I
don't take this for granted.

I'm a first-generation
island boy.

My mom's from the Bahamas and,

you know, and it's all
about culture.

It's all about family.
It's all about breaking bread.

It's all about
the sea, you know?

And I just want to say thank
you, brother, for your time.

And bless her,
you know what I mean?

Yes.

[ Conversing native language ]

Williams: Angelo's planning on
starting a community fish farm.

So...

Williams: Angelo said
he would need somewhere

to the tune of $150,000
to $200,000.

That's a lot of [bleep] money
if you live in South Africa.

It's a poor man's community,

and I think there
are some people

that may have bigger visions
for this area.

I said, "So, um, just --
Angelo,"

I says, "It looks like,
you know,

they're coming for this --
this area.

Let's face it, gentrification
is upon you, you know?"

I says, "Um, and when they come
for something,

they usually get it.

What are you gonna do
when they come for you?"

Like, "Where are you going?"

And he looked at me,
and he says,

"Mike, we born here,
we die here."