OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE TAGGING NEWS

NEWS FROM THE ORI TAGGING PROJECT NUMBER 26

Published July 2013, Results from 2012 Welcome to the 26th edition of the Tagging their numbers in 2011, which is very encouraging IN THIS ISSUE News! bearing in mind that the populations of both these Over the last four years the Tagging Project has fish are considered to be overfished. Are Progress to date (2) seen some of the best years it has ever we perhaps seeing the results of the stricter fishing experienced, with over 10 000 fish tagged each regulations imposed in 2005? Only time will tell… Percentage of fish tagged year since 2009 (numbers we haven't seen since The Eastern Cape (22.9%) and Western Cape along the SA coast (3) 1996 even with our strict motto of 'quality rather (20.3%) remained the regions where the bulk of than quantity'), and we hope to continue this the tagging took place. This result is expected as Top 10 species tagged (3) achievement well into the future. Despite these there are far more tagging members residing in Institutional scientific increased tag numbers, the membership of the these areas as well as a greater abundance of fish tagging (4) project has remained fairly consistent with species that can be targeted all year round both previous years, with 2012 producing a further 152 from the shore and offshore, including . KwaZulu-Natal new members, bringing the total number of The Southern Cape (13.8%), Transkei (12.3%) Board tagging (4) participants to 5 282 anglers since the project's and Zululand (10.0%) also had good tag numbers, inception in 1984. although Zululand decreased by 2% from 2011. Commercial charter groups (4) Third highest number tagged since 1996 A recent publication in the African Journal of A total of 10 858 fish (the third highest number Marine Science, Volume 35(2), has highlighted Special thanks (4) tagged since 1996 (see graphs overleaf) were some of the remarkable achievements of the ORI tagged and a remarkable 781 (7.2%) recaptures Tagging Project. Amongst these are more than Anglers who have tagged were reported during 2012, which was the second 632 publications, which include over 268 formal 10 or more fish (5) highest recapture rate after the record breaking publications in scientific journals, books and Main species tagged (8) recapture rate achieved in 2010 (8.8%). A students' theses. Despite these successes there comparison of tagging effort by five major is no room for complacency. Linefish management “Spotties” of the cooperative tagging projects worldwide revealed in is facing some of its toughest that the ORI challenges yet and Langebaan MPA A comparison of tagging effort by five major cooperative tagging projects from around (9) Tagging Project the world as of the end of 2011 (ORICFTP = Oceanographic Research Institute despite its obvious Cooperative Fish Tagging Project; NSWGTP = New South Wales Gamefish Tagging definitely ranks as Project; NZGTP = New Zealand Gamefish Tagging Project; SCMGFTP = South Carolina socio-economic Movements and dispersal one of the more Marine Game Fish Tagging Project; SUNTAG = Australian National Sportsfishing importance to the Association Tagging Project; CTCNMFS = Cooperative Tagging Centre of the National of leervis (10) successful projects Marine Fisheries Service) country as a whole, Tagging Total Percent of its kind and has Initiated Area of operation the recreational Comparison of growth one of the highest Programme tagged recaptured sector is still only South East Atlantic & South ORICFTP 1984 251969 5.2 rates for couta (11) recapture rates West Indian Oceans being paid lip Indian & South Western NSWGTP 1973 384243 1.8 service by the (see table). This is Pacific Oceans Seven simple steps for South Western Pacific despite the larger NZGTP 1975 61685 3.1 powers that be. As reporting a recaptured diversity of fish that Ocean such it is really SCMGFTP 1974 North Atlantic Ocean 134578 9 fish (12) we allow our South Western Pacific important to keep SUNTAG 1987 643200 7.9 members to tag Ocean successful, long- Atlantic & North Pacific CTCNMFS 1954 314868 4.4 compared to other Ocean term projects such projects. Our as the ORI Tagging EDITED BY current priority species list spans some 100 fish Project going because ultimately wise decision- species from elasmobranchs (i.e. sharks and rays) making must be based on sound data and this is Stuart Dunlop to game and fish. To date 374 different fish exactly what the TaggingProject strives to provide. species have been tagged and the information The fact that this project involves the voluntary Bruce Mann gained has helped to develop species-specific support of anglers who are contributing towards regulations to enable more sustainable use of our the wise management and conservation of our Bernadine Everett linefish resources. Some examples include linefish resources (recently termed “Citizen management of roman, garrick/leervis, shad/elf, Science”) makes it so much more important. The slinger, galjoen, dusky kob, red steenbras, white bottom line is that as anglers and taggers we must CONTACT DETAILS steenbras and many others. Furthermore, the keep doing the job well; every suitable fish caught Tagging Project has also made a major must be carefully handled, properly tagged, contribution towards evaluating the effectiveness quickly released and the relevant data correctly Oceanographic Research of our marine protected areas and enabling recorded and all recaptures reported. By sticking Institute quantification of the amount of spill over of fish to these basic principles we can all make a PO Box 736 from these protected areas. valuable contribution to ensure the sustainable Durban future of our precious linefish. 4000 Almost double their numbers in 2011 South Africa In terms of species tagging composition, galjoen Citizen scientists Cell: +27 079 529 0711 (12.6%), garrick/leervis (10.3%), dusky kob We sincerely hope that you enjoy this exciting Tel: +27 31 328 8222 (9.5%), spotted grunter (4.6%) and white issue of the Tagging News. We would like to say a Fax: +27 31 328 8188 steenbras (3.5%) were the top five species tagged big thank you to all of our tagging members for Email: [email protected] in 2012. Interestingly, the number of garrick/leervis their ongoing support as well as to the numerous and dusky kob tagged in 2012 was almost double anglers who have provided information on Web: www.oritag.org.za continued on page 2 PROGRESS TO DATE continued from page 1 FISH TAGGED PER YEAR AND PER ANGLER tag recaptures. The long-term success of this project is entirely thanks to your on-going contributions towards the wise use and 14000 Average no. tagged per angler 25 conservation of our marine linefish species. For those of you who Total no. tagged tagged.angler fish Average 12000 have not already seen your tagging profile, please go to 20 www.oritag.org.za (to login you need to enter your tagging reference 1 - 10000 number as a six digit number, e.g. TA4218 and repeat this number as 15 your password). The tagging instruction booklet and this edition of 8000 the Newsletter are also available on the website. Furthermore, the electronic data sheets for tag release and recapture submissions via 6000 10 email/fax are also available for download. If possible, we prefer this

Fish tagged.year 4000

method of data submission as it guarantees that we receive the data. 1

.year Please feel free to distribute this edition of the Newsletter to your 5

2000 - fellow anglers. -1 0 0 We wish you tight lines and happy tagging!

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year

% FISH RECAPTURE PER YEAR AND NUMBER OF TAGS BOUGHT FROM SUPPLIER, CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF FISH TAGGED ISSUED TO MEMBERS AND USED BY MEMBERS

10 300000 30000 9 Bought Issued Used 25000 250000 tagged number Cumulative 8

7 200000 20000 6 15000 5 150000 4 10000 100000 Number of tags 3

Percenatge recaptured 2 50000 5000 Recap % Cumulative no. tagged 1 0 0 0

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year Year

Average no. New Active Total no. tagged per Cumulative Cumulative Species Max Years Max Km Year Members members tagged angler no. members no. tagged Tagged Recap # Recap % Free Moved 1984 283 277 2553 9.2 283 2553 103 23 0.9 0.6 723 1985 441 502 8088 16.1 724 10641 153 237 2.9 1.1 804 1986 304 586 7434 12.7 1028 18075 170 217 2.9 2.8 1227 1987 271 569 8823 15.5 1299 26898 180 249 2.8 2.8 1374 1988 218 547 8894 16.2 1517 35792 176 384 4.3 4.1 1443 1989 232 569 11237 19.7 1749 47029 192 530 4.7 4.1 1016 1990 289 597 10435 17.5 2038 57464 162 515 4.9 4.0 1892 1991 208 586 11982 20.4 2246 69446 185 697 5.8 6.3 1625 1992 213 611 12777 20.9 2459 82223 188 689 5.4 7.2 1408 1993 299 591 12056 20.4 2758 94279 175 643 5.3 7.5 1606 1994 242 604 10442 17.3 3000 104721 181 501 4.8 8.1 1670 1995 249 593 11733 19.8 3249 116454 171 498 4.2 8.6 1676 1996 229 558 10930 19.6 3478 127384 175 350 3.2 7.8 1554 1997 141 449 9601 21.4 3619 136985 174 553 5.8 11.0 1897 1998 127 444 7412 16.7 3746 144397 152 443 6.0 8.4 1820 1999 123 424 6575 15.5 3869 150972 158 311 4.7 12.0 1186 2000 68 371 6101 16.4 3937 157073 148 227 3.7 10.6 1679 2001 65 391 6820 17.4 4002 163893 144 306 4.5 10.9 1273 2002 54 363 6944 19.1 4056 170837 160 290 4.2 12.8 1426 2003 55 331 7190 21.7 4111 178027 150 427 5.9 8.1 1751 2004 63 346 7668 22.2 4174 185695 154 506 6.6 9.8 1319 2005 60 351 7487 21.3 4234 193182 166 496 6.6 10.8 1577 2006 146 403 8500 21.1 4380 201682 170 449 5.3 10.9 1552 2007 164 446 9262 20.8 4544 210944 177 661 7.1 9.0 1405 2008 117 439 9460 21.5 4661 220404 166 666 7.0 15.0 1495 2009 162 504 10813 21.4 4823 231217 180 723 6.7 14.0 2966 2010 152 532 10354 19.5 4975 241571 171 904 8.7 20.7 1843 2011 155 557 10262 18.4 5130 251833 167 697 6.8 22.6 1438 2012 152 532 10858 20.4 5282 262691 174 781 7.2 13.1 1347 TOTAL 5282 485 262691 18.6 10564 262691 368 13973 5.1 22.6 2966 Page 2 PERCENTAGE FISH TAGGED ALONG THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN COAST IN 2012

1% Mozambique (2%) 0.1% Namibia 10% (5%) Zululand (14%)

7% Natal 5% (10%) West 12% Coast Transkei (7%) 7% (7%) 23% Border (4%) 20% 14% Eastern Western Southern Cape Cape Cape (16%) (6%) (27%) Percentages in parentheses indicate overall distribution of tagging since the start of the project in 1984 TOP 10 SPECIES TAGGED IN 2012

Garrick 10% (4%)

Galjoen Dusky kob 10% (6%) 13% (21%)

Spotted grunter 5% (4%)

White steenbras 4% (2%)

Dusky 3% (4%)

Spotted ragged-tooth shark 2% (2%)

Black musselcracker/Poenskop 2% (1%)

Blackspot smooth houndshark 2% (2%) Shad/elf 2% (3%)

Other 47% (51%)

Percentages in parentheses indicate overall distribution of tagging since the start of the project in 1984 Page 3 INSTITUTIONAL SCIENTIFIC TAGGING FOR 2012

2012 Overall Institute /Organisation Area Total Recapt% Total % Recapt. Oceans and Coasts (DAFF) De Hoop Marine Reserve 1253 8.4 48589 6.69 Port Elizabeth Museum Coega/Ngqura Harbour (P.E.) 699 7.0 2355 7.2 St Lucia Marine Reserve 673 15.3 6383 13.85 Oceanographic Research Institute Pondoland Marine Reserve 591 21.8 3246 24.83 Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency Dwesa Marine Reserve 210 3.3 1022 2.8 Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife Kosi Bay Reserve 72 11.1 2801 8.5 White Shark Africa - Shark Warriors Mosselbaai 67 11.9 224 4.0 KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board KwaZulu-Natal Coast 52 0 4144 6.4 Oceans Research and Shark Lab Mossel Bay 49 12.0 143 5.6 Rhodes University Tsitsikamma Marine Reserve 27 7.4 12217 4.7 Cape Nature Goukamma Marine Reserve 17 0 332 4.5 Two Oceans Aquarium (Released Fish) Western Cape 14 7.1 75 5.3 uShaka Marine World Aquarium (Released Fish) Durban 5 0 109 4.6 Rhodes University Addo Marine Reserve 1 100 150 4.7

SHARKS TAGGED & RELEASED FROM NETS/DRUMLINES IN 2012 BY KWAZULU-NATAL SHARKS BOARD

Species Scientific name Tagged Tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier 16 Blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus 8 Spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna 6 Raggedtooth shark Carcharius taurus 5 Dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus 4 Manta ray Manta birostris 4 Great white shark Carcharodon carcharias 3 Giant guitarfish Rhynchobatus djiddensis 3 Scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini 1 Houndshark (unidentified) Mustelus sp. 1 Zambezi shark Carcharhinus leucas 1 Grand Total 52

COMMERCIAL CHARTER GROUPS

2012 Overall Name Group Area Facet Total % Recapt. Total % Recapt. Adrian Westraadt Linene Island Resort Linene Island, Mozambique DS RS FLY 40 2 477 1.1 Duarte M. Rato Rani Resorts - Indigo Bay Bazaruto Island, Mozambique DS BF 39 0 776 0.52 Guy Ferguson Azura Lodge Benguerua Island, Mozambique DS BF FLY 15 13.3 557 1.8 Mush Nichols Vamizi Island Lodge Vamizi Island, Mozambique DS BF 6 0 6 0 Andrew Parsons Benguera Lodge Benguerua Island, Mozambique DS BF RS 2 50 1631 4.11

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the financial support received from the SouthAfricanAssociation for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) and the KZN Department ofAgriculture and EnvironmentalAffairs (DAEA), without which we would have been unable to continue this important project.

Most of all, we would like to thank all of our active tagging members for their on-going contributions towards linefish research and conservation.

In particular we would like to acknowledge the following taggers for monetary donations in 2012: Dawid van der Merwe, Roelof Visagie and Robin Flood.

David Hall (Hallprint©) is thanked for his excellent service and on-going supply of high quality tags and applicators.

Roelf Venter is thanked for his assistance in fitting handles to the tag applicators.

THANKS

SPECIAL Lastly, we thank all of the other sponsors who have contributed in some way over the past 28 years, there are simply too many to mention.

Page 4 ANGLERS WHO HAVE TAGGED 10 OR MORE FISH DURING 2012

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

0 0

0 0 0 4

0 0 0 0 0

1.9 2.7

9.8

3.1

4.88 5.31 5.88 1.54 2.27 2.56 4.89 2.17 4.35

3.13 2.68 7.69 2.74 3.17

6.31 4.44

2.19

2.54 7.45 6.45

3.64

2 6 1 0 2 9 3 1 1 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 1 6 7 2 8 10.26 0 7 6 0 0 2 3.77 4 4 0 0 0 1 8 11.59 2 0 0 2 0 0 0

11 41 11 207 11 11 102 10 65 11 25 10 88 10 184 11 158 11 37 10 39 10 19 13 46 10 22 10 115 11 11 10 22 13 29 11 30 10 51 10 12 12 32 13 13 10 189 10 261 12 73 11 78 12 34 12 111 12 135 13 36 10 15 10 53 13 183 10 129 11 36 12 34 12 16 13 25 12 473 12 12 738 55 11 69 11 31 11 15 12 15 11 55 12 663 82 12.37 12 13 11 24 12 13

2012 Total Recapt. % Recapt.

WE

ALD

T

T

ON

WBY

THERINE

0 MR. J. LE ROUX 0 MR. J. HAMMAN 0 MR. C. CAINE 0 MR. C. GROENEW 5 MR. J. BOTHA

0 MR. C. JOHNST 0 MR. P. VAN DER MER 0 MR. B. WOODROFFE 0 MR. R. WARREN

5 MR. J. MOOLMAN

0 MR. A. BOTHA

3.7 MR. J. MEALIN

4.1 MR. J. BISHOP 6.9 MR. M. DAMES

2.6 MR. P. DU TOIT 2.5 MR. R. DELPOR

1.69 MR. T. GOWER 5.99 MR. E. GOOSEN

7.84 MR. D. HOEHLER

4.82 MR. L. WOOD 7.41 MR. J. LA GRANGE 6.32 MR. J. LORD 2.94 MR. A. MANNING 4.22 MR. T. BEUKES 4.57 MR. M. MA

4.55 MR. G. MULLER 3.85 MR. P.D. MULLER JNR

3.77 MR. R.M. HAND 3.79 MR. N.S. NAIDOO

8.51 MR. D. VAN VUUREN

2 1.82 MR. B.M. GILBER 1 4 1 1.15 MR. D.C. MACE 0 1 1.92 MR. J. VAN RHYN 9 3.14 MR. C. KIDD 1 3.57 MR.. K. HANDLEY 1 1.67 MR. R. BILLIMORE 0 9 4.81 MR. J. TIMM 0 4 3.13 MR. S. ATKINSON 0 0 1 4 2 4.65 MR. Q. CA 0 0 2 2.41 MR. N.H. NEL 2 1 0.56 MR. K. VRYENHOEK 6 0 1 9 11.39 MR. K. WEBBER

7 4 5.33 MR. B. GERBER 3 2 0 5

4 2 1 4 1 1.32 MR. C. FENWICK

15 110 15 27 19 236 15 87 15 23 15 52 14 287 15 488 47 9.63 MR. B. MARAIS 19 685 41 15 28 15 198 1215 60 6.06 MR. J. VAN ZYL 14 14 15 187 15 569 21 3.69 MR. F.14 BOTHA 14 1515 48 128 15 20 18 24 15 20 19 51 14 43 14 15 14 83 16 228 11 18 27 14 178 19 95 16 31 19 34 14 79 16 166 18 219 10 14 75 17 60 18 660 30 17 52 18 20 16 122 16 145 10 17 323 36 11.15 MR. E. NAUDE 15 77 18 106 17 343 13 17 423 43 10.17 MR. C.D. STEVENS 16 40

15 76

2012 Total Recapt. % Recapt. Member Name

W

HEY

ORIUS

Y

TES

ONE

0 MR. R. THOMPSON 0 MR. J. VILJOEN 0 MR. J. THERON

4 MR. J. ORMSHA 2 MR. R. CAMPBELL

2 MR. M. BAUDEWIG

0 MR. W. LESLIE 8 MR. D. SOLOMON

2.82 MR. T. LAWSON 4.99 MR. J. DE REUCK 3.09 MR. D.I. PRET 2.66 MR. J. ASHERWOOD 4.88 MR. G. MARSHBANK 1.88 MR. B.D. CARR 1.69 MR. E. DIEN 1.33 MR. C. RIDDIN 8.49 MR. D. TEN VELDEN 0.99 MR. D. BRADFIELD 5.26 MR. M. DE LA 5.38 MR. W. MATHEE 2.63 MR. G. SIMS 14.4 MR & MRS SMITH 8.57 MR. G. GRA 3.88 MR. D. MULLER 2.15 MR. J. HILL 4.04 MR. P. SCHEIFLINGER 4.76 MR. W. LABUSCHAGNE 1.82 MR. D. ST 3.33 MR. A. KIDSON 4.44 MR. J. COA 2.25 MR. B.B. PRISMALL 3.69 MR. H.F. PETERS 1.96 MR. H. ZEELIE 7.19 MR. C. COETZEE 4.08 MR. C. RANGE 1.54 MR. T. BEUKES 5.33 MR. C. VEUGELERS 7.27 MR. C.F. MARAIS 3.65 MR. B. STEYN 2.59 MR. H. LOUW 9.21 MR. R. PRINSLOO 2.05 MR. B.K.A. LANGE 2.22 MR. B. BROWN 4.17 MR. A.G. LOURENS 2.34 MR. M. TYLDESLEY 5.39 MR. C. BEZUIDENHOUT 16 47 3.23 MR. G. BOUCHER

5 2 3 2 3 1 2 7 0 1 8 0 2 0 5 1 2 2 2 1 2 2.38 MRS. K. SCOTT

2 1

5 1 3

5 0 1 2 4

1

25 177 27 421 21 25 2656 82 21 414 11 25 41 23 931 79 36 160 26 118 24 226 22 590 63 10.68 MR. D. VAN BREDA 20 101 27 38 25 130 23 31 21 38 36 140 12 24 243 35 22 27 32 206 22 48 34 93 21 767 31 20 105 24 826 15 20 30 30 248 11 32 89 20 50 34 434 16 30 100 33 51 19 84 29 139 10 31 49 21 65 31 825 44 33 330 24 31 137 33 50 29 116 29 152 14 31 244 28 56 32 45 31 48 30 171 28 300 24 30 371 20 27 31

2012 Total Recapt. % Recapt. Member Name

HARPE

ORIUS

VINE

YLE

YDOM

ART

AUTZ

MR. R. SW

0 MR. J. SCOTT 0 MR. A. CAMPHER 0 MR. D. DUNCAN 0 MR. W.B. MULLINS

1.6 MR. M.J. P 8.8 MR. J. PYBUS

4.9 MR. K. SPENCER

6.6 MR. M. DOHLHOFF

6.16 MR. N. WILLEMSE 6.58 MR. R. STR 3.68 MR. H. LEWIS 8.33 MR. L. DAVIDOWITZ 3.57 MR. D. COLE 3.88 MR. G. POPE 4.46 MR. S. MURPHY 2.88 MR. D.M. IR 1.52 MR. T. EGERSDORFER 7.11 3.36 MR. C.H. DE LA 3.16 MR. R. TAYLOR 1.64 MR. J.F. DOUGLAS 3.28 MR. L. TAYLOR 6.31 MR. N. DE KOCK 5.68 MR. T. ELVIN-JENSEN 4.77 REV. T. EAYRS 4.08 MR. C. NEIL 4.13 MR. L. SMITH 7.46 MR. C. WILKINSON 6.33 MR. B.F. VAN WYK 8.13 MR. C. QUA 2.21 MR. L. ALLISON 8.55 MR. J. BREETZKE 1.18 MR. J. VAN COLLER 4.73 MR. K. HUMPHREYS 2.99 MR. D. PAUTZ 1.54 MR. R.A. KOEKEMOER 6.63 MR. J.P. RHEEDER 2.34 MR. F. ELS 4.33 MR. C. STIPP 2.59 MR. R.F. RAUBENHEIMER 1.52 MR. B. VAN REENEN 7.02 MR. A. ARTHUR 4.35 MR. I. REYNOLDS 2.36 MR. R. JANSE 4.72 MR. G. GROBLER 3.14 MR. M. MOLENAAR 5.52 MR. J. HYMAN

0 2 4 9 1 0 3 0 4 0 4 5 8

1 0.97 MR. A. WOOD 3 5

2 7 3 5

1 8 3 5 5 5 8

98

52 276 17 54 93 51 125 38 1114 51 152 10 44 103 52 108 47 392 14 43 66 38 92 55 628 28 51 416 12 43 95 40 40 47 119 43 145 43 122 40 666 42 37 88 45 2241 107 37 196 64 799 33 90 134 10 37 103 65 750 61 37 102 64 269 23 90 169 40 106 62 128 82 1669 79 82 325 99 2187 145 62 323 14 80 424 11 58 66 93 4728 332 75 184 93 183 68 212 58 106 68 159 56 145

180 326 12 140 591 42 134 1181 145 12.28 MR. L. PRET

133 521 33 114 136

110 335 10

2012 Total Recapt. % Recapt. Member Name

WE

HARPE

ORIUS

AN DER SANDT

T

' CONNELL

GRANGE

VILLE

ARG

MR. J.C. RANCE SNR. Member Name MR. R.F. BURGER MR. K. SMITH MR. D. DRENNAN MR. S. DUNLOP MR. D. BEZUIDENHOUT MR. P. MC DONALD MR. J. FROST MR. C.K. DE CLERCQ MR. W.J. NORTON MR. J. VON BONDE MR. R.A. SHEPHERD MR. K. HANSEN MR. A. KRUGER MR. M.J. RADEMEYER MR. W.S. VAN DER MER MR & MRS. V MR. R. KRUGER MR. R. KYLE MR. P. MORRIS MR. D.J. PRET MR. C.D. LILFORD MR. G. SA MR. J. LUEF MR. J. BRINK MR. M. WHITE DR. J.J. DE LA MR. B.M. O MR. G. GOUGH MR. D. LA MR. P. VAN DER WESTHUIZEN MR. G. MARCHAND MR. C.J. NIEHAUS MR. O. VON HASSELN MR. B. SP MR. O. RICHTER MR. B. FERREIRA MR. C. HAR MR. F. VAN ZYL MR. R. POTGIETER MR. G. BROWN MR. S. WALKER MR. C. NELSON MR. S. MEY MR. G.P. BEAUMONT MR. S. OOSTHUIZEN MR. H. CROUS MR. D. HUMPHREY MR. P.H. VAN NIMWEGEN Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 MAIN FISH SPECIES TAGGED UP TO 31 DECEMBER 2012

Recaptured Km Travelled Days free Recaptured Km Travelled Days free Species Number tagged No. % Mean Max Mean MaxSpecies Number tagged No. % Mean Max Mean Max Galjoen / Damba 55024 3834 6.97 44 1892 407 5118 Red stumpnose 271 6 2.21 20 107 561 1233 Dusky kob / Kabeljou 14903 907 6.09 29 1625 328 4370 Bluntnose spiny dogfish 266 4 1.5 188 669 615 1476 Dusky shark 11712 776 6.63 74 1374 98 2772 Flapnose houndshark 259 33 12.74 1 43 572 2216 Garrick / leervis 11279 755 6.69 246 1670 324 3208 Elephantfish / St Joseph 251 1 0.4 1342 1342 218 218 Spotted grunter 9500 268 2.82 13 823 262 2950 Banded galjoen 246 6 2.44 94 562 254 507 Copper/bronze shark 8816 281 3.19 160 1790 428 3981 Black seacatfish 245 100 40.82 0 1 214 564 Blacktail 8449 212 2.51 6 358 266 2715 Bartail flathead 245 5 2.04 4 18 273 796 Spotted gulleyshark 7997 441 5.51 33 911 515 6332 Blackspot shark 243 6 2.47 35 192 281 708 Shad/elf 7482 278 3.72 252 5709 132 1106 Brown shyshark 225 8 3.56 1 10 428 933 Lesser guitarfish/sandshark 6391 70 1.1 42 726 335 2572 Snapper kob / salmon 204 10 4.9 20 132 170 378 White steenbras 6189 320 5.17 48 2711 282 2262 Lemonfish 198 11 5.56 1 2 216 749 Blackspot smooth houndshark 5679 165 2.91 47 582 569 2561 Spearnose skate 196 4 2.04 1 3 193 284 Slinger 4756 167 3.51 8 1059 153 909 Puffadder shyshark 189 16 8.47 1 20 94 483 Spotted raggedtooth shark 4690 477 10.17 244 5286 749 8256 Bluefin kingfish 186 7 3.76 5 15 137 260 Roman 4145 277 6.68 4 294 269 3549 Malabar rockcod 185 27 14.59 0 7 173 762 Giant guitarfish / sandshark 4045 200 4.94 32 360 323 1945 Cape snoek 181 1 0.55 136 136 491 491 Sailfish 3489 28 0.8 63 1060 154 727 Blue hottentot 177 4 2.26 0 0 96 199 Sevengill cow shark 3204 167 5.21 74 597 457 4332 Whitespotted smooth houndshark 171 4 2.34 5 15 478 1627 Giant kingfish 3023 110 3.64 17 419 356 2226 Greyspot guitarfish / sandshark 163 1 0.61 6 6 51 51 Black musselcracker / Poenskop 3000 226 7.53 8 483 429 3295 Javelin grunter 153 16 10.46 9 65 378 2940 Largespot pompano 2986 51 1.71 6 114 232 1236 Dolphinfish / dorado 150 1 0.67 64 64 66 66 Diamond ray 2899 19 0.66 218 1577 437 1890 Smallspotted pompano 133 7 5.26 40 270 281 1218 Zebra / wildeperd 2699 63 2.33 3 52 216 1399 Blue emperor 133 9 6.77 0 0 263 448 Blue / marbled stingray 2653 7 0.26 53 234 460 1085 Spotted eagleray 125 2 1.6 8 15 460 850 Bronze bream 2536 97 3.82 18 799 191 1465 Englishman 107 3 2.8 2 6 245 554 Carpenter 2480 23 0.93 48 290 946 4766 Cock grunter 106 5 4.72 14 65 144 490 White musselcracker 2272 72 3.17 56 843 536 2313 Flathead mullet 101 1 0.99 738 738 738 738 Catface rockcod 2127 454 21.34 6 411 195 2867 Russell snapper 91 2 2.2 0 1 44 77 Yellowbelly rockcod 1926 335 17.39 5 355 291 2220 Great barracuda 89 21 23.6 0 1 167 467 Baardman / tasselfish 1839 20 1.09 2 17 269 679 Maasbanker 88 0 0 0 0 Speckled snapper 1661 662 39.86 2 146 250 2276 Sliteye / tope shark 86 2 2.33 290 565 1334 2652 Ladyfish / springer/skipjack 1584 30 1.89 25 412 369 1426 Cape gurnard 86 2 2.33 0 0 207 377 Hammerhead sharks 1513 10 0.66 74 218 219 955 Eeltail catfish 85 1 1.18 1 1 47 47 Albacore / longfin tuna 1478 36 2.44 303 1008 412 2585 Thorntail stingray 83 2 2.41 0 0 295 357 Sharpnose stingray 1474 3 0.2 8 24 221 465 Swordfish 78 1 1.28 9 9 1263 1263 Perch/riverbream 1449 203 14.01 1 42 378 1583 Sailfin rubberlip 74 0 0 0 0 Smooth hammerhead shark 1391 20 1.44 142 384 603 3075 Spotted spiny dogfish 74 1 1.35 36 36 120 120 Natal stumpnose 1345 39 2.9 9 230 192 653 Blackfin reef shark 72 2 2.78 59 118 360 697 King mackerel / couta 1331 53 3.98 412 1552 564 2604 Oxeye tarpon 69 0 0 0 0 Santer / soldier 1313 59 4.49 28 490 332 1683 Short-tail stingray 65 2 3.08 0 0 39 77 Westcoast steenbras 1284 78 6.07 61 280 253 1449 Banded catshark 65 8 12.31 16 55 423 1155 Red steenbras 1176 83 7.06 204 923 1207 8080 Striped mullet 65 1 1.54 1 1 230 230 River snapper 1162 228 19.62 3 391 298 2403 Java shark 57 2 3.51 14 18 67 76 Cape stumpnose 1057 6 0.57 11 56 225 732 Moustache rockcod 56 13 23.21 95 1200 637 2990 Brassy kingfish 1050 64 6.1 1 13 237 772 Whitebarred rubberlip 55 1 1.82 1 1 176 176 Skipjack tuna 1017 1 0.1 1061 1061 464 464 Cape moony / moonfish 53 0 0 0 0 Striped catshark 1016 51 5.02 10 381 330 2096 Longfin yellowtail 52 0 0 0 0 Duckbill 991 10 1.01 17 123 572 1427 Greater yellowtail 52 0 0 0 0 Yellowfin tuna 918 11 1.2 271 2701 215 548 Bigeye stumpnose 52 2 3.85 2 3 33 38 Grey grunter 912 58 6.36 1 15 216 1099 Sand steenbras 51 1 1.96 0 0 79 79 Blacktip shark 907 36 3.97 85 1288 216 1148 Yellowtail scad 51 0 0 0 0 Soupfin shark 907 24 2.65 134 1034 771 3586 Doublespotted queenfish 51 1 1.96 0 0 537 537 Milkshark 906 25 2.76 91 363 187 772 Green jobfish 50 1 2 0 0 31 31 Dageraad 850 34 4 25 592 374 1568 Blue / ferdy kingfish 50 0 0 0 0 Scotsman 774 223 28.81 14 378 387 1613 Yellowspotted kingfish 49 0 0 0 0 Geelbek 762 4 0.52 55 218 60 138 Striped threadfin 48 0 0 0 0 Cavebass 756 106 14.02 5 328 268 933 Thintail thresher shark 45 0 0 0 0 Black marlin 741 2 0.27 256 504 124 159 Brown catshark 45 1 2.22 0 0 34 34 Scalloped hammerhead shark 739 13 1.76 157 629 213 832 Longfin kingfish 45 1 2.22 12 12 453 453 Blacktip kingfish 696 26 3.74 4 54 146 545 Needlescaled queenfish 45 1 2.22 0 0 227 227 Stonebream / stinker bream 687 5 0.73 30 149 221 563 Panga 44 0 0 0 0 Honeycomb stingray 606 8 1.32 1 8 502 2543 Marbled electric ray 43 0 0 0 0 Longnose blackfin / spinner shark 603 20 3.32 69 1055 165 830 Concertina-fish 42 0 0 0 0 Hardnose smooth houndshark 572 10 1.75 79 340 350 870 Shortfin mako shark 42 4 9.52 19 69 294 786 Bigeye kingfish 537 31 5.77 12 163 242 2751 Tomato rockcod 40 4 10 2 6 327 537 Giant yellowtail 532 18 3.38 244 1746 273 1287 Wreckfish 39 2 5.13 4 7 231 388 Eagleray 521 3 0.58 18 49 261 635 Yellow-edge lyretail / rockcod 37 0 0 0 0 Seventyfour 509 11 2.16 114 521 595 2845 Atlantic bonito 36 0 0 0 0 Great white shark 488 14 2.87 345 1548 370 959 Prodigal son / 36 1 2.78 36 36 479 479 Striped marlin 487 2 0.41 805 848 202 379 Shortbill spearfish 34 0 0 0 0 Tiger shark 473 23 4.86 201 1751 408 1823 Steentjie 34 0 0 0 0 White seacatfish 447 48 10.74 1 21 368 1895 Manta ray 33 0 0 0 0 Janbruin 444 14 3.15 1 12 110 279 Yellowfin emperor 33 4 12.12 0 0 441 1187 Leopard catshark 439 29 6.61 32 722 584 4431 Milkfish 31 0 0 0 0 Zambezi shark 430 27 6.28 61 539 317 2599 Round ribbontail ray 30 2 6.67 4 8 45 74 Blue marlin 352 0 0 0 0 Dusky rubberlip 30 1 3.33 0 0 645 645 Potato bass 350 19 5.43 2 14 197 714 Chub mackerel 29 0 0 0 0 Silver kob 342 11 3.22 23 134 192 839 Blue shark 28 0 0 0 0 Talang queenfish 340 15 4.41 1 10 170 630 Koester 28 1 3.57 0 0 1176 1176 Halfmoon rockcod 335 61 18.21 1 45 394 2511 Tripletail / flasher / lobotes 28 0 0 0 0 Southern pompano 335 23 6.87 61 464 132 848 Bludger kingfish 27 0 0 0 0 Hottentot 334 12 3.59 2 10 199 792 Minstrel rubberlip 27 1 3.7 37 37 679 679 Bonefish 324 1 0.31 6 6 17 17 German 26 0 0 0 0 Eastern little tuna 310 0 0 0 0 Thornfish 26 0 0 0 0 White stumpnose 301 4 1.33 2 3 298 463 Spadefish 26 1 3.85 118 118 2724 2724 Pickhandle barracuda 285 51 17.89 2 44 246 1450 Brindlebass 25 2 8 0 0 80 149 Priority species for tagging are highlighted with colour. Page 8 THE “SPOTTIES” OF THE LANGEBAAN LAGOON MARINE PROTECTED AREA

I knew there was something special about Langebaan Lagoon when, Saldanha Bay into the Atlantic Ocean were seen and these occurred after two years of failing to catch and tag smooth houndsharks along the mainly in winter and spring. Whilst winter movements outside into the length and breadth of SouthAfrica and with the help of some exceptional Atlantic Ocean are merely a release from temperature restraints, fishermen, I was able to tag 100 in 48 hours with the help of a movements into the Atlantic Ocean coincide with the spring pupping kind angler and his 13 year old daughter. Let me tell you why smooth- period. Feeding studies suggest that, unlike in other areas of South hounds and particularly those in the lagoon are so special. The smooth Africa, smooth-hounds inside the LMPA do not switch diet from houndshark (Mustelus mustelus ) (or “spottie” as they are affectionately to fish with increasing size. Smooth-hounds in the LMPA of known on the West Coast) is a small, loving shark that all sizes feed predominantly on the same food: sand , crown occurs in the easternAtlantic Ocean from the British Isles to SouthAfrica and mud prawns with no switch in diet. Interestingly, this diet study and in the Mediterranean Sea. They reach a maximum age of 25 years, showed only a single case of cannibalism. It is possible that adults with females reaching larger sizes than males. Smooth-hounds start leaving the MPAduring the pupping period could reduce the competition breeding at around 10 years old, when they are about one metre total for food for the young of year sharks, whilst also reducing instances of length. Four to 18 pups are born after a gestation period of 11 months. cannibalism. Our study suggests that the biggest female smooth- Larger females have more pups and tend to be found closer inshore. hounds in the LMPA are at least 20 cm bigger than the biggest caught Little is known about the long-term movement patterns, although data elsewhere in South Africa and 50 cm bigger than the biggest female from the ORI Tagging Project suggests that while smooth-hounds may smooth-hound caught in Mauritania. Additionally the reproductive study make sporadic large movements from tens to hundreds of kilometers, suggests that the smooth-hounds in the LMPA have larger litter sizes most are recaptured close to the initial tagging site. Commercially, they and larger sizes at birth. These data suggest that the MPA in Langebaan are important and are caught in large numbers by several fisheries as Lagoon is highly effective at maintaining a large population of smooth by-catch and as a target species. Despite its status as a commercial houndsharks. In fact, such a large amount of protection provided by an fishery species and its relative vulnerability to fishing pressure, there is MPAhas rarely been shown for a commercially important shark species. little management or conservation of this species. One of the major Data aside, one only has to compare pictures of the beautiful LMPA reasons they are not better protected is that we know very little about spotted smooth-hounds to those caught around the rest of the South them, which is why every smooth-hound caught and tagged in the African coast to see the difference; they are rarely scarred by gaff marks, Langebaan Lagoon is so valuable. hooks and attempted , they are fat and clearly very healthy.

A recent study in the Langebaan Lagoon Marine Protected Area (LMPA) The LMPA is clearly a has shed some light on their short term movements. A number of paradise for smooth underwater acoustic listening stations were deployed within Langebaan houndsharks and for catch and Saldanha Bay which allowed us to record every movement around a and release anglers who listening station that was made by 24 smooth-hounds tagged with coded enjoy the fight provided by acoustic tags for two years. The results were astonishing and showed a feisty fish in areas where that only 29% of the tagged sharks left the lagoon and all returned some angling is allowed. As a time later. Moreover, all sharks spent between 44-100% of their time researcher it is very inside the confines of the small protected area with an average of 79% of difficult to conduct time spent inside the MPA. This is surprising given that 82% of the MPA research on marine consists of sandbanks usually shallower than 2m and many are exposed animals without the help of during low tide. There are no resident predators of smooth houndsharks the angling community. inside the LMPA, however small numbers of bronze whaler sharks Tag information returned (Carcharhinus brachyurus ) move into the deeper waters of the LMPA to by recreational anglers is feed in summer and broadnose sevengill cow sharks (Notorynchus vital to determining the cepedianus) move into the LMPA to feed in winter. Smooth-hounds movement and inside the protected area are therefore safe from fishing activities and distribution of fish. relatively safe from predators if they remain in the shallower water. Tagging data has immense scientific value Smooth-hounds in the LMPA also seem to be heavily influenced by and since your data is vital temperature. In summer the LMPA is warmer than Saldanha Bay with a to telling the stories of clear temperature barrier restricting movement between the two areas. these fish – why don't you In winter, the warm water is no longer confined to the lagoon and it head down to Langebaan extends towards Saldanha Bay. Only during winter when this and Stywe lyne! temperature barrier collapses do smooth-hounds frequently increase their movements towards Saldanha Bay and outside into the Atlantic Article by Charlene da Silva Ocean. Very few confirmed cases of smooth-hounds actually leaving (Dept. of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries )

SEVENGILL COW SHARK Notorynchus cepedianus SHAD / ELF Pomatomus saltatrix 3 204 TAGGED 167 RECAPTURED = 5.2% RECAPTURE RATE 7 482 TAGGED LONGEST DISTANCE TRAVELLED 597 KM 278 RECAPTURED = 3.7% RECAPTURE RATE MAXIMUM DAYS FREE 4 332 (11.9 YEARS) LONGEST DISTANCE TRAVELLED 1 676 KM MAXIMUM DAYS FREE 1 106 (3.03 YEARS) On 28 September 2005, Mr C. Groeneweld tagged and released a cow shark of 1 190 mm PCL from the shore at Soverby near Saldanha The scientific tagging that is being conducted within our MPAs is Bay on the Cape West Coast. On 09 June 2012, this shark was certainly proving to be a valuable source of information on our recaptured at Cape Hangklip near Gordons Bay in the Western Cape important linefish species. Two shad that were tagged in the De Hoop having been at liberty for 2 446 days (i.e. 6.7 years). During this time, MPAby ColinAttwood and his team were recaptured in 2012. The first the shark had grown 410 mm and had moved 419 km. This recapture fish was tagged in February 2011 and recaptured 397 days later, again proves the importance of long-term tagging projects as it is one 850 km (2.1 km per day) north at East London. Similarly, the second of only a few cow sharks that have been tagged on the West Coast shad was tagged during September 2010 and recaptured 481 days and have rounded Cape Point to be recaptured on the East Coast of later 1 311 km (2.7 km per day) away at Kingsburgh, just south of South Africa. Excitingly, a new telemetry project has recently Durban in KZN. Both these recaptures show the highly migratory commenced on cow sharks in False Bay and we look forward to behaviour of larger individuals of this species which swim north into hearing about the results from this research project in the next edition KZN waters during winter to spawn. of theTagging News .

Page 9 MOVEMENTS AND DISPERSAL OF LEERVIS – A COMBINATION OF TAGGING PROJECTS

SPOTTEDGARRICK GULLYSHARK / LEERVIS The leervis / garrick (Lichia amia ) is a prized gamefish species that is distributed from Cape Point to Cape Vidal. It also occurs up the African TriakisLichia megalopterus amia west coast (northern Namibia and Angola) and the Mediterranean Sea. Locally, it is targeted by all sectors of the linefishery, including estuarine, 117 771 279 TAGGED TAGGED coastal (rock and surf), offshore (skiboat) fisheries and the spearfishery. 419755 RECAPTURED = 5.4%6.7% RECAPTURE RATE Juveniles are dependent on estuaries as nursery habitats, while adults LONGESTLONGEST DISTANCE DISTANCE TRAVELLED TRAVELLED 1 911 670 KM KM occur mostly in the nearshore marine environment. The leervis is listed MAXIMUMMAXIMUM DAYS DAYS FREE FREE 6 3 632 208 (18.2 (8.8 YEARS) YEARS) as a recreational species and may not be sold.

During 2011the prolonged the record drought for the along longest the time Eastern at liberty Cape by coastline a spotted a The leervis is a popular tagging species and approximately 10 000 gullysharknumber of good was broken. sized dusky On the kob 30/10/1993 and leervis wereMr JJ caught, Crous tagged and individuals have been tagged in the ORI Tagging Project since its released ain spotted the closed gullyshark West Kleinemonde of 1 020 mm totalEstuary length (just from north the of shore Port inauguration in 1984. By the end of 2011 a total of 640 fish were atAlfred). Cape Surprisingly, Agulhas Light only House. one ofOn the the tagged 02/03/2011 kob was this recaptured individual was but recaptured, with an overall recapture rate of 8.8%. The maximum recapturedseveral of the at Stuisbaaileervis were having recaptured, been at someliberty even for 6 332more days than (i.e. once. 18.2 It distance travelled by an individual fish was 1 670 km, while the years).all started This on smashes 6 November the old 2010 record when by 844 Dalton days! Phillips This fish caught had grown four maximum time at liberty (days free) was 3 208 days or 8.8 years! The 580leervis mm ranging in its18 from years 760 -at 810 liberty mm andFL. Just had more only movedthan a month 7 km. later, This ORI Tagging Project has provided excellent insight into the large-scale recaptureduring the again December proves school the importance holidays two of long-term keen young tagging anglers projects. from movement behaviour and seasonal migrations of this species. Large ItPort is only Elizabeth after many recaptured years that two vital ofDalton's information tagged on the leervis. growth Both rate and fish leervis were found to undertake greater movements than smaller movementwere released patterns again of into these the long-lived closed estuary. species Good can be rains obtained. during the individuals, and almost 80% of all leervis recaptured in KZN were mature month of May 2011 finally brought much needed drought relief to the adult fish (i.e. > 800 mm FL). It was also found that fish tagged in the Eastern Cape coastal belt and also caused the mouth of all the closed Cape in summer were then recaptured in KZN during the winter months estuaries to breach. This provided the first opportunity in more than (April – September), with the opposite applying during summer. two years for the big fish to get back to sea, where they spawn. The However, some adult leervis were also tagged and recaptured in the mouth breaching of the West Kleinemonde was particularly Cape during winter, suggesting an asynchronous migration (i.e. it is spectacular as the very full estuary drained its entire basin within six possible that not all adult fish undertake the annual migration to KZN or seven hours. Millions of litres of water and millions of tons of sand each year). went gushing into the sea, taking with it most, if not all, the big fish that were trapped in the estuary. It was just a matter of time until one of the The brilliant long term data on coastal migrations collected by the ORI tagged fish would show up again. The first to show up was one of Tagging Project has been further complimented by another research- Dalton's fish that the youngsters also recaptured. This fish was based tagging project (the 082 TAG FISH Project) administered by the recaptured by Andre Botha at St Lucia (northern KZN) over 800 km South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) in Grahamstown away only 28 days after the estuary mouth opened. This means that (Eastern Cape). Although the overall objectives of both tagging projects this fish travelled at a minimum of about 30 km per day! This are similar, the 082 TAG FISH project places more emphasis on remarkable migration also indicates that after being trapped in the localised movements and dispersal from dedicated tagging sites. Over closed estuary for several years, this fish did not lose its natural the past decade, the 082 TAG FISH project has focused its efforts on instinct to migrate to the warmer waters off KZN where leervis (called estuarine-associated species such as dusky kob, white steenbras, garrick in KZN) are known to spawn over the winter months. It is just spotted grunter and leervis. Researchers with help from a group of avid hoped that this fish got an opportunity to spawn prior to being caught. “citizen scientists” have undertaken numerous field trips to several It would be sad if this genetically predetermined, energy sapping tagging destinations in the Eastern Cape, particularly the beaches and migration was all for nothing! estuaries within Algoa Bay. For example, approximately 700 leervis Written by Paul Cowley and David Drennan have been tagged in the Swartkops Estuary, with an overall recapture rate of 12%. Of the fish recaptured, a staggering 55% were recaptured within this estuary, highlighting their strong association with estuarine habitats and fidelity to the nursery area in which they grow up. The SCOTSMAN recapture data also suggests that they move extensively while in the Polysteganus praeorbitalis estuary, with a mean movement distance of 6.3 km and a maximum distance of 14 km. The mean distance moved by the remaining 45% of 774 TAGGED recaptured fish from the Swartkops Estuary was 155 km and a maximum 223 RECAPTURED = 28.8% RECAPTURE RATE of 831 km, indicating that once they leave their nursery habitats they LONGEST DISTANCE TRAVELLED 378 KM undertake extensive long-shore movements. It also appears that leervis MAXIMUM DAYS FREE 1 866 (5.1 YEARS) travel in distinct shoals as three individuals that were tagged on the 21 December 2011 at Perseverance (14 km up the Swartkops Estuary), During 2012 there were a number of exciting Scotsman recaptures, ranging in length from 390 – 440 mm FL, were all recaptured on exactly which is quite unusual for this normally resident reef fish. Most of the the same day approximately six months later (04 May 2012) off the Port Scotsman were tagged by ORI scientists working in the Pondoland Elizabeth harbour wall. Numerous leervis have also been tagged at the Marine Protected Area (MPA) south of Port Edward. The first of these PE harbour wall, with some showing fidelity to this site. For example, one recaptures was reported in February 2012. This fish was tagged individual was recaptured 1 535 days later at the same locality (although offshore of the Mtentu River on 13 January 2007 and was recaptured this fish may have moved and then come back to the same place). a remarkable 1 866 days (5.1 years) later, 231 km north offshore of Ballito (KZN north coast). Similarly, two other Scotsmen, also tagged The data gathered to date from the two distinct tagging projects have off Mtentu, were recaptured 85 and 18 km north of the no-take area in provided valuable information on the biology of this species as it appears the Pondoland MPA. This MPA is producing some fascinating that leervis display both residency and migratory behaviour throughout movement behaviour and growth rate information for these important their lives. Although it appears that adults migrate to KZN waters to reef fish species and is helping to quantify the amount of spillover spawn, it remains uncertain whether all fish migrate every year and from the MPAinto adjacent exploited areas. whether migrating individuals return to the site where they were tagged. In an attempt to answer these and other questions about the behaviour Another exciting Scotsman recapture was tagged on 6 February of this magnificent fish species we have initiated an acoustic telemetry 2008 at Bird Island, Eastern Cape (another one of our important study. To date, six adult fish have been tagged with transmitters with a 5- MPAs) and recaptured 1 613 days (4.4 years) later 269 km away year lifespan and more acoustic tagging is scheduled to take place over offshore of Mazeppa Bay (Transkei) and having grown 150 mm. All the next two years. these recaptures are very important and confirm that some Article by Taryn Murray and Paul Cowley Scotsmen, which are normally quite resident, do move considerable (Rhodes University & SAIAB) distances and it is possible that mature adults may move up the coast in a north-easterly direction to spawn.

Page 10 COMPARISON OF GROWTH RATES FOR COUTA

The king mackerel or 'couta' (Scomberomorus commerson ) is an The annual growth rate of tag-recaptured couta in KZN and southern important schooling predatory species supporting significant MOZ waters was on average 9.3 cm per year in fish with lengths from 69 recreational, artisanal and commercial fisheries along the east coast of to 123 cm FL (1 to 7 year old fish), which was almost the same as the southern Africa. Reliable information from age and growth studies is annual growth rate estimated from otolith ring count data over the same critical for the stock assessment and management of this important length distribution (Figure 3). linefish species.

A study recently undertaken at the ORI aimed to analyse and compare estimates of growth rates for couta, derived from both otolith ring counts (hard, calcium carbonate structures forming part of the inner ear located directly behind the brain of bony fish) and through the analysis of tag- recapture data obtained from the ORI Tagging Project off the coast of southern Mozambique (MOZ) and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). A study examining the age and growth of couta over this spatial scale had not previously been attempted in the South West Indian Ocean region.

Couta otoliths were collected fromApril 2011 to March 2012 from various locations within southern MOZ and KZN.All fish were captured using rod and line by recreational anglers and artisanal fishers throughout the study area. Each fish sampled was weighed, measured, sexed and the otoliths were removed. Age estimates from otoliths were obtained by Figure 3. Comparison of growth rate estimates for couta counting seasonally deposited growth rings that develop, much like determined by otolith ring counts (solid line) and growth estimated those that can be observed in the trunk of trees (Figure 1). The age of from tag-recapture data (dashed line). each couta was estimated from otolith ring counts and displayed on a graph according to the length of each fish using a von Bertalanffy growth The growth rates observed in couta can be put into perspective by model (Figure 2). comparing them to a slower growing species such as galjoen where a young 30 cm (3-4 year old) fish grows at a rate of 4.5-5.5 cm FL per year, while an older, larger fish (50 cm FL of 9-10 years old) grows at a much slower rate of 0.5-2 cm FL per year. It is important to note that the fast growth rate displayed by couta (Figure 3) for the early ages (particularly from 0+ to 2 year old fish), slows down substantially as the fish becomes larger and older. This information obtained from the ORI Tagging Project is very important as it confirms or validates the growth patterns obtained from the otolith samples. This reduces uncertainty and improves the confidence in the results obtained for stock assessment models and consequent recommendations for the management of this important linefish species. Article by Mr Brendon Lee (Oceanographic Research Institute)

BLACK MARLIN Figure 1: Whole otolith of a 126 cm FL couta viewed at 10x Istiompax indica magnification under reflected light over a black background. 741 TAGGED 2 RECAPTURED = 0.27% RECAPTURE RATE LONGEST DISTANCE TRAVELLED 1 399 KM MAXIMUM DAYS FREE 159 (0.44 YEARS)

Thirty years after the inception of the Billfish Tagging Project (the precursor to the ORI Tagging Project) and with almost 5 000 billfish tagged and released, we recently received two very exciting marlin recaptures in one week! Excluding sailfish, these two marlin recaptures make up two of only five billfish recaptures ever recorded Fork length (cm) in the ORI Tagging Project and are each, in their own right, extremely valuable to science. The first recapture reported was a black marlin. This fish was tagged by Anton Viljoen off Richards Bay on the KZN North Coast on 22 February 2012. Just 90 days later, on 22 May 2012, this same fish was recaptured by a French longliner operating

Age (years) off southern , 1 398 km away. This fish travelled at an Figure 2. von Bertalanffy growth model (VBGF) fitted to length-at- impressive speed of 15.5 km per day and is the only known record of age data for couta in KZN and southern MOZ. a black marlin crossing the Mozambique Channel (these fish normally remain relatively close to land). The growth of couta was characterized by a very rapid initial increase in size. Depending on sex, fish achieved a mean size of between 77-88 cm The second recapture, reported a few days later, was a striped marlin FL, greater than half the average maximum length, during the first two which was originally tagged by Henry Badenhorst off Sodwana on 27 years of life (Figure 2). The slowing down of growth for 2+ year old couta December 2010. This fish was recaptured on 10 January 2012 by a appears to coincide with the age at maturity (0.8-1.5 years). This is Japanese longliner operating off Pomene in central Mozambique. important for the fishery as the majority of couta captured in the region This fish had moved 848 km during its 379 days at liberty (2.2 km per have therefore had the opportunity to spawn at least once prior to their day). Unfortunately no length measurements were reported for either capture. The maximum recorded age estimate for couta was a 14.6 year of these recaptures. Both recaptures provide new and interesting old female measuring 166.5 cm FL and weighing 33.5kg, captured off information which, coupled with the results from the satellite tagging Zinkwazi. However, the largest couta recorded in SA waters was a 48 kg project being conducted through SADSAA (South African Deep Sea fish, significantly larger than the largest fish sampled in this study. It is Angling Association), will provide useful information for the improved thus likely that couta may reach ages of up to 20 years. conservation of our billfish species.

Page 11 SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS FOR REPORTING A RECAPTURED FISH

It is of utmost importance that when an angler catches a tagged fish he/she reports the relevant information promptly and correctly to ORI. Valuable information is often lost with the delayed reporting of recaptures as well as the incorrect reading of a tag number or poor measurement of the fish length. If you or one of your fellow anglers catch a fish with a tag in it, please record the following information:

1.TAG NUMBER - this is the number (in most cases 6 digits) on the tag as well as the tag type (a letter before the tag number) - e.g. D132526 or A142576. Please note that the old round clip-on C- tags (similar to the ear-tags used on cattle), which may be found clipped to a shark’s dorsal fin is not an easy tag to read and should, if possible, be removed from the fin whether you intend on releasing the fish or not. With all other tag types (A, B, D and M) it is not advisable to remove the tag if you are going to release the fish again, rather carefully read the tag number (ask someone to verify this number if possible), measure the fish, write down this information and then re-release the fish. If it is not possible to read the tag number then cut the back number off the tag just behind the address. Make sure that you have the tag type (A, B, D, or M) and the numbers (up to 6 digits) on the section of tag you have cut off and post this to us with the other relevant information on the recaptured fish. Remember, if you don't have a pen or pencil, you can record the details on your cell phone and simply sms it to us on our dedicated cell phone (079 529 0711).

2.SPECIES - this is the species/type of fish you have recaptured. If you are not sure what species it is, write down what you think it is followed by a “?” and give us a brief description or if possible take a photograph (even with your cell phone camera if available). Some species have many common names which can be confusing. Please use the accepted common name in full (e.g. spotted grunter, not just grunter as there are a number of different grunter species).

3.CORRECT LENGTH MEASUREMENT - It is essential that ORI receives the correct fish measurements from you. If you do not have a tape measure,use a piece of nylon or string to measure the fish with, marking it with a knot at the correct length. When measuring a fish do not lie the tape measure/string over the body but rather hold it under the fish or in as straight a line as possible. Indicate on the return what measurement type was taken (i.e. fork length, total length, precaudal length or disk width).

For accuracy we require our tagging members to measure fork length if the fish has a forked tail (e.g. kingfish), total length if it has a straight or rounded tail (e.g. kob, rockcod), precaudal length if it is a shark with a precaudal notch (e.g. dusky shark), or disk width (wing span) if it is a ray. Total length should be measured for spotted gulleysharks, houndsharks, catsharks and sandsharks. If you are uncertain about which length type to measure, then simply measure both (e.g. fork length and total length or precaudal length and total length). Remember, length measurements for minimum legal size limits are always total length.

FORK LENGTH TOTAL LENGTH

DISK WIDTH

TOTAL LENGTH PRECAUDAL LENGTH

4.EXACT LOCALITY - this is the exact area where you caught your tagged fish. This needs to be quite specific and always state the province and or major river/town in the vicinity to ensure that we know exactly where you were fishing. Our coastline extends for over 3 000 km and many of the fishing spots have the same name or many different names (e.g. Shark Point or Witsands).

5.DATE – this is the date of recapture. Please use the standard format dd/mm/yyyy .

6.WHETHER THE FISH WAS KEPT OR RELEASED - this is important as if the fish was re-released was the tag left in the fish or removed? A fish that has a tag in it should never be retagged unless the original tag was removed.

7.ANGLER NAME AND CONTACT DETAILS – Please supply us with your name, email address and phone number in case more information is needed. We send out an exciting, detailed report on recaptured fish to the angler who caught it and sent us the information. Remember that the more accurate your information is the better the report will be.

Contact details: Email: [email protected] Tel:031-328 8222 Cell: 079 529 0711 Fax 031-3288188

NB Please share this information with your fellow anglers or put it up on the notice board in your clubhouse in order to increase awareness of what to do if you catch a tagged fish! Page 12