Johannes Dirk Kotze, known to us all as simply JD, was a spirited and loyal friend and colleague, his recent passing will leave a great void in our professional community.

JD was a law enforcement professional, whose seasoned and colourful career gave him a wealth of stories and experiences to share during trainings or over a beer. JD was an Investigator in the South African Police Service and The Directorate of Special Operations, commonly known as the Scorpions, a specialised unit of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa for many years before becoming an Investigator and Trainer in the fight against illegal fishing and environmental crimes.

In the past decade, JD has worked and committed much of his time to training enforcement officers. For many frontline fisheries and environmental officers across the African continent, he was a valued mentor and brother, always on the end of his phone to provide support when needed. He had an uncanny ability to connect with people, his unusual ‘opinionated yet humble’ character helped people to feel appreciated and welcome. He also took great effort to guide them, sharing the skills and knowledge that they needed to make their work meaningful.

While JD was undoubtedly a kind man, he was also well known for his stubborn side, often not backing down from an argument until someone, usually Per Erik, figuratively ‘hit him over the head’, but it would always end in laughter and good will – we will no doubt smile at some of those memories in the coming years!

JD was a movie star in the 2016 Animal Planet series “Ocean Warriors”, where his operational work tackling blast fishing with the Multi Agency Task Team in Tanzania is featured. He loved this ‘high action’ work and again had the chance to share his skills while on board the Sea Shepherd’s civilian patrol vessel “Ocean Warrior” during Operation Jodari. His practical thinking was always at the forefront and following the Covid Pandemic, he pioneered the ingenious use of body worn cameras for fisheries officers, a tool that is now commonly used to help build capacity, grow confidence and protect officers from abuse.

JD was a key clog in the workings of Stop Illegal Fishing and NFDS, and through this he made many important contributions to our research and published work, including to operational manuals. He was a key investigator and consultant particularly working with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) with regular travel to countries including Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania. JD contributed to many projects and partners in the region including SADC Atlantic, Oceans Vigilance, FishFORCE, IOTC and WWF as well as with the West Africa Task Force.

JD was a loyal, fun and appreciated colleague and friend, up until his last day he was talking about the latest illegal fishing cases and planning the calendar for the rest of the year. He will forever be treasured for his friendship and professional commitment, and sorely missed.

JD had suffered from heart problems for many years, finally these caused his death at home with his family. JD was a God-fearing man that loved his family above all: he leaves his wife Erika, his two sons and their partners, two daughters and a granddaughter. May he rest in peace.

To contact the family, please use his son Heynes’ email: heyneskotze@yahoo.com