2019 Tagging News

Tagging News News from the ORI Cooperative Fish Tagging Project •Number 33

•Published August 2020

•Results from 2019

From the Tagging Officer...

Gareth Jordaan Welcome to the 33rd edition of the Tagging News.

For more than three decades the Tagging News has communicated the results of the cooperative efforts between fishery scientists and anglers, and has successfully promoted ethical angling, while tracking the movement patterns and growth rates of some of our common linefish species caught around the southern African coast.

In 2019 we had a remarkable 263 new members join the ORI Tagging Project, 127 more than the number that joined in 2018. This means that more anglers understand the importance of tag and release and want to contribute to the research and conservation of our linefish. Despite the increase in new members, our total number of fish tagged (9 928) and recaptured (750) during 2019 was the lowest it has been in recent years.

This is mainly due to lower tagging effort by our scientists in the Pondoland Marine Protected Area, as well as the website being “offline” from August to December 2019 due to maintenance issues. This unfortunately resulted in members not being able to receive new tags over this period and consequently much less tagging took place. Fortunately, most of these issues have now been resolved and the website is back up and functioning.

The total number of fish tagged and recaptured on the project to date is 341 364 and 20 777 respectively, a truly remarkable achievement!

Kevin Humphreys was our top tagger for 2019, with an impressive 387 fish tagged. As for the recaptures, Kobus Niehaus had 29 (6%) of the fish he has tagged overall, recaptured (see table on page 6). Remember, it’s not always about the number of fish you tag but rather about the way in which you handle and tag them! We encourage all our members to watch our much improved instructional tagging videos (thanks to SAAMBR and Ocean Planet Media) which can be viewed via our ORI TAG Facebook page, our website and/or the SAAMBR YouTube channel (please watch them and share them with your fishing buddies). Please record the sex of any sharks or rays that you tag or recapture (the males have visible external claspers). Please record this information in the comments section of your tag card and/or submission form, or by ticking the box on the new tag cards.

(page 5), visualising over 35 years of data from the De Hoop Marine Protected Area (page 20) and news of an exciting new Fish App that is currently being developed (page3). Also in store for you is a selection of amazing recaptures. Our focus species this year is the spotted grunter, which I am sure many of you will enjoy reading about.

Our 26 Facebook posts in 2019 reached about 175 000 people. This means that our greater presence on social media (follow us on Facebook at ORI TAG) and the new tagging website (www.oritag.org.za) has not only increased the number of anglers interested in joining the project, but has also helped people to understand the importance of our research.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy this new and modern version of the Tagging News. Unfortunately, the cost of printing and posting magazines to all our members has simply become prohibitive. We would like to say a big THANK YOU to all our tagging members for your ongoing support. The past three months of the COVID-19 pandemic have been particularly difficult for everyone but now that we are able to fish again hopefully you can all get a chance to go fishing and tag some great fish!

Stay safe out there, and we wish you tight lines and happy tagging!

A quick link to marine recreational fishing regulations Anglers often find it difficult to find the fishing regulations.

There has been no change to the Linefish regulations in South Africa since April 2005. However, access to the regulations has become increasingly difficult for a variety of reasons. To help anglers get easy access to the fishing regulations we have decided to make them accessible on our SAAMBR website. The simple to use document is smartphone compatible – so you can download it onto your phone and keep it for quick access when you go fishing. Click here to go to marine recreational fishing regulations.

Once again, South Africa’s national fish, the galjoen, was the top tagged fish in 2019 (1 089) and overall. The dusky shark returned to the top 10 species tagged with a total of 452 tag releases. This is because of the large number of smaller individuals that were tagged last year along the KwaZulu-Natal coast. The raggedtooth shark also rightfully took its place back in the top 10, and was joined by two old timers, the white steenbras and elf/shad who haven’t been in the top 10 since 2017 and 2015 respectively (see figure on page 4).

This edition of the Tagging News has some great articles on movements of dusky kob in the Breede estuary

2

Cover photo: Andrew Gericke and his son Morgan with a Dageraad that was tagged and released.

At last, a Fish App for anglers!

Bruce Mann In May 2019, ORI signed a contract with an App developer to develop a fish identification application (Fish App) suitable for download on a cellular phone (like those currently available for birds, snakes, trees, etc.). This app is being produced for marine recreational anglers to improve angler fish identification and increase awareness about South African marine linefish species.

If successful, we hope to expand the Fish App later to include other non-linefish species, to cover interest from the diving community. Our fish biologists will supply all the content for the App and the developer will create, manage, and sell the App at a nominal cost.

All profits from the sale of the App will be split between the developer and ORI. Importantly, funds received by ORI will go into helping to finance the ORI-Cooperative Fish Tagging Project (ORI-CFTP).

To date we have compiled detailed species profiles for 250 common linefish species from 77 families using simple, easy to understand text. Colour images for each species have been obtained from a wide range of sources including from Rudy van der Elst’s book on common sea fishes (mostly pictures of dead fish), Dennis King’s reef guide book (underwater fish pictures), Phil and Elaine Heemstra’s coastal fishes book (fish paintings) and a host of voluntary contributions from anglers (mostly of live fish out of the water).

Sketches of fish families were obtained from Rudy van der Elst and Phil and Elaine Heemstra’s books. Simple distribution maps were compiled for each species using up-to-date information. We have even developed a fish identification smart search that seems to be working reasonably well. Length/weight relationships were compiled for each species using the most accurate The basic structure of the Fish App includes a detailed information available, mostly taken from FishBase. fish guide (photographs and text), a distribution map for Finally, the linefish regulations have been summarised each species, a fish identification tool (smart search), for each individual species based on current gazetted fish family identification sketches, a legislation. length/weight calculator, and the current fishing regulations for each species.

The developer now has all of the We hope that the Fish App will be information they need to create the App. welcomed by both the angling community Draft versions of the App will be carefully and the responsible management checked and tested before it is released agencies, and it will hopefully have for sale. It is hoped that the ORI Fish App a positive effect on increasing angler will become available for sale in late 2020. awareness and compliance. It is planned We will certainly notify members of the that the Fish App will be regularly updated ORI-CFTP as soon as it becomes available! to include any changes in the fishing regulations and incorporate any new information on the individual species.

3

Percentage of fish tagged along the Southern African coast in 2019 (percentages in brackets indicate overall distribution of tagging since 1984)

Top 10 species tagged in 2019

(percentages in brackets indicate overall composition of tagging since 1984)

4

Tracking dusky kob in the Western Cape JD Filmalter Roughly a decade ago Dr Paul Cowley from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) initiated a national research project looking at longshore movements and habitat use of adult estuarine dependent fish species, in collaboration with researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). In 2016 we began tagging adult dusky kob in the Breede Estuary with long life acoustic transmitters as part of the Western Cape component of this project.

These tags last for eight years and allow the fish to be tracked as they swim within the Acoustic Tracking Array Platform (ATAP) network of acoustic receivers. This network spans a large portion of South Africa’s coastline from the Berg Estuary on the West Coast to the border with Mozambique. Additional receivers are located in approximately 20 major estuaries across the country.

When a tagged fish swims within a 500 m radius of a receiver the tag ID, date and time are recorded.

Despite dusky kob being a prized angling species, we still know very little about how the adult population uses the coastline and how the population mixes at a national level. Initially 40 adult dusky kob (117-173 cm TL) were tagged in the Breede in 2016. During 2017 and 2018 a further ten juveniles (62-75 cm) were also tagged. In 2018 the project was expanded to assess the role that the adjacent De Hoop Marine Protected (MPA) area plays in supporting the kob population that uses the Breede. This expansion involved deploying more receivers and tagging more dusky kob within the MPA.

By January 2020 there were 21 adult (101-152 cm) and 10 sub-adult (81-97 cm) dusky kob tagged in the MPA bringing the total number of tagged fish to 81. Although some fish were tagged nearly four years ago now, their tags are still active meaning that new information continues to come to light each time the receivers are retrieved and downloaded. Consequently, most of the results obtained so far are preliminary, but the trends they are indicating are quite remarkable!

in high numbers (7082% each year). They also do not appear to be using much of the coastline, with only a single fish venturing as far as Mossel Bay. All other movements have been limited to less than 150 km.

Many of the tagged fish have briefly visited surrounding estuaries, including the Duiwenhoks, Goukou and Gouritz.

We have also seen many fish from the Breede spending time in the De Hoop MPA, however only three of those tagged in De Hoop have ventured into the Breede – but it’s still early days for them and things could easily change.

The most startling (and concerning) result obtained so far is not about their movements but rather about their vulnerability. Of the juvenile dusky kob tagged in the Breede, 80% have now been recaptured and retained in a little over 2.5 years. All recaptures were made by recreational anglers in estuaries. This is a troubling statistic for the sustainability of the population. The dusky kob stock in South African waters has been considered collapsed for over 25 years and is showing no sign of recovery. These limited movements and high recapture rates are providing critical insights as to why this is the case. Estuaries are critical habitats for this species but also the greatest source of fishing mortality.

A major finding so far has been the strong site fidelity The fate of the stock hinges on future management that the adult dusky kob tagged in the Breede have interventions and responsible fishing practices in these displayed. Every year the same individuals return, and key environments.

www.oritag.org.za

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Top Taggers: 11 or more fish tagged in 2019 Member name

2019 tag releases

Total taggings

2019 tag recaptures

Total tag recaptures

% Recapt.

Member name

2019 tag releases

Total taggings

2019 tag recaptures

Total tag recaptures

% Recapt.

KEVIN HUMPHREYS

387

2187

8

102

5%

BOB SHEPHERD

40

685

-

24

4%

MARK GALPIN

213

539

19

42

8%

POENA BRUWER

38

189

3

8

4%

NIEL MALAN

162

350

12

17

5%

RUDOLPH LATEGAN

36

42

2

2

5%

36

552

2

19

3%

SHAWN MEY

150

1195

4

62

5%

RIEKERT VAN HEERDEN

CHARLES LILFORD

120

2861

4

131

5%

EDUARD STEYLS

35

182

1

4

2%

BRADLEY SPARG

120

2394

4

135

6%

DONOVAN SOLOMON

35

252

1

51

20%

JASON BRINK

118

370

-

9

2%

DAVE IRVINE

34

455

6

72

16%

KOBUS NIEHAUS

110

1933

29

117

6%

MATTHEW MCIVER

34

129

6

9

7%

ROGER DAVISON

93

142

12

15

11%

BERRIE FERREIRA

33

704

1

25

4%

MIKE DOHLHOFF

91

460

6

29

6%

FRANCOIS KEMP

33

89

3

3

3%

DION GOVINDER

90

408

9

49

12%

NIC DE KOCK

33

1956

9

127

6%

DONAVAN COLE

81

874

9

22

3%

MATT SNYMAN

32

32

3

3

9%

GERRIE GROBLER

81

637

1

31

5%

CORNELIS REIMAN

32

526

-

20

4%

WILLIAM FERREIRA

77

334

4

16

5%

PIETER MULLER

32

716

1

29

4%

JEFF ASHERWOOD

74

552

4

35

6%

CRAIG NELSON

32

658

4

43

7%

PIET OOSTHUIZEN

68

631

12

130

21%

NICHOLAS PIENAAR

32

49

2

2

4%

MATHEW WEEDMAN

67

510

8

58

11%

STEPHAN BRILL

31

38

-

-

-

JUSTIN MCCARTHY

59

509

1

33

6%

DEVAN LAGENDYK

31

48

1

3

6%

JACQUES DE LA HARPE

59

1110

8

85

8%

SIMON WALKER

31

5144

3

390

8%

JUNAID ISMAIL

58

252

10

36

14%

RYAN TAYLOR

30

387

4

40

10%

JJ STRYDOM

57

162

3

6

4%

HARDUS LATEGAN

30

37

-

-

-

PIETER DU TOIT

54

181

2

6

3%

SHAUN DAFEL

30

44

3

3

7%

MARCO WILDEMANN

52

52

1

1

2%

PIERRE STEYN

30

166

1

3

2%

GARETH GOUGH

50

465

4

32

7%

QUINTON KAHTS

29

29

-

-

-

JOSHUA TIMM

49

137

1

5

4%

SIEG NEUMANN

28

85

-

1

1%

JACQUES OOSTHUIZEN

48

344

9

83

24%

ORION FARAH

28

48

3

5

10%

MICHAEL PARRIS

48

67

2

4

6%

STRINIVASEN ROLAND NAICKER

27

167

2

8

5%

CHRISTOPHER PIKE

47

250

2

14

6%

C MORAN

27

27

-

-

-

LEON VAN DER MESCHT

47

57

1

1

2%

WIHAN DE JAGER

27

33

-

-

-

DIRK HERTZOG

46

205

4

12

6%

BRETT HARRIS

26

137

-

4

3%

URSULA OTTO

46

102

2

4

4%

EUGENE OWEN

26

117

-

4

3%

25

293

-

5

2%

GRAHAM POLLARD STEFAN OOSTHUIZEN STEFAN VAN HUYSSTEEN RUAN VAN DER WALT CHRIS FALLOWS

6

45

242

1

8

3%

STEVEN HUMPHREYS

42

390

2

30

8%

GERHARD BRUWER

25

30

2

2

7%

42

182

1

5

3%

CARLO VAN TONDER

25

110

-

2

2%

41

207

4

12

6%

VAUGHN REILLY

25

204

1

26

13%

40

1563

-

51

3%

BRENDAN O'CONNELL

25

433

2

70

16%

Top Taggers: 11 or more fish tagged in 2019 Member name

2019 tag releases

Total taggings

2019 tag recaptures

Total tag recaptures

% Recapt.

Member name

2019 tag releases

Total taggings

2019 tag recaptures

Total tag recaptures

% Recapt.

MORNE OLIVIER

25

25

-

-

-

STEPHAN OLIVIER

16

35

1

1

3%

BARRY TEDDER

25

213

-

4

2%

RAY THOMPSON

16

684

3

43

6%

BARRY-JOHN CADLE

24

24

-

-

-

JOHN DALE

16

224

-

13

6%

RUSSELL HAND

24

743

1

85

11%

JOHANN VENTER

16

27

-

-

-

ROB SCOTT

24

73

3

6

8%

BRAD CARR

16

941

2

71

8%

CHARLES DE LA HARPE

23

401

1

46

11%

MURRAY BASSET

16

53

-

3

6%

TREVOR BROWNE

23

73

2

2

3%

15

15

1

1

7%

MAARTEN MOLENAAR

23

638

2

36

6%

15

22

-

-

-

SHALVIN NAIDOO

23

101

3

6

6%

15

349

1

8

2%

PAUL COCKS

23

44

1

3

7%

14

14

-

-

-

LUAN ELS

23

33

-

-

-

14

196

1

21

11%

RUSSEL BERMAN

23

167

-

5

3%

14

148

-

4

3%

JULIAN PYBUS

23

582

4

27

5%

14

317

-

16

5%

STEVE SUTHERLAND

22

25

1

1

4%

13

105

2

6

6%

CLIFFORD HART

22

2632

1

172

7%

13

371

-

21

6%

LEON VAN VUUREN

22

89

-

-

-

13

13

-

-

-

13

13

1

1

8%

13

72

-

1

1%

13

248

1

6

2%

12

16

2

2

13%

12

12

1

1

8%

12

56

2

6

11%

12

118

1

14

12%

12

563

1

56

10%

12

22

-

-

-

12

145

2

8

6%

12

131

3

12

9%

11

1765

3

198

11%

11

357

-

24

7%

11

16

-

-

-

11

411

-

18

4%

11

27

2

3

11%

11

34

1

2

6%

11

238

3

17

7%

11

489

4

42

9%

11

18

-

-

-

11

92

-

2

2%

MATTHEW NOTHARD

22

63

-

-

-

ROUX SWART

21

298

2

22

7%

PIETER ROSSOUW

20

118

1

8

7%

MARLIN KINSEY

20

81

1

4

5%

VICTOR HOGAN

20

22

-

-

-

KIRK WEBBER

20

314

3

18

6%

JASON HAXTON

19

41

2

2

5%

19

153

1

8

5%

18

426

5

29

7%

MELVIN GOVENDER

18

48

2

4

8%

WERNER POTGIETER

18

115

1

3

3%

DIVAN COETZER

18

18

-

-

-

RON MAGGS

18

122

-

4

3%

WALTER BRIAN MULLINS JACQUES-PIERRE GELDENHUYS

STEPHAN MARX

18

30

1

2

7%

KAREL VRYENHOEK

18

163

2

11

7%

JUSTIN VON BONDE

18

158

-

2

1%

RYAN DALY

17

33

-

-

-

PATRICK MORRIS

17

859

-

56

7%

GRAHAM HEIM

17

203

1

4

2%

JASON MARKS

17

64

-

2

3%

MUHAMMAD ISMAIL DUVAN VAN BREDA GARETH BEAUMONT JUANDRÉ GELDENHUYS RYAN KOEKEMOER GARY THOMPSON RIAAN & THEA-MARI VAN DER SANDT CRAIG CARRUTHERS JULES KUN LOUHAN KOCH BRYSON CHUNDER GUY NICHOLSON LYLE TAYLOR HAIG SMUTS AVISHKAAR MISRA MARK BROWN KEVIN RUDOLPH GRANT MARSHBANK LIONEL KORTE DANIEL LA GRANGE WILLA BOTHMA ROBERT KYLE DAVE HUMAN DARREN DE BRUIN CHRIS MULLER JUAN-PHILIP WAGNER JUSTIN KEEPING LISTON DAVIDOWITZ LOUIS ALLISON MJ HILLHOUSE ANDREW GERICKE

www.oritag.org.za

7

8

9

10

11

ORI Cooperative Fish Tagging Project Statistics Fish tagged per year and per angler 30

Fish tagged.year-1

12 000

25

10 000

20

8 000 15 6 000 10

4 000

Total no. tagged 5

2 000

Average fish tagged/angler/year

14 000

Average no. tagged per angler

0

0

Year

% fish recaptured per year and cumulative number of fish tagged

Percenatge recaptured

9

400 000

Recap %

350 000

Cumulative no. tagged

8

300 000

7

250 000

6 5

200 000

4

150 000

3

Cumulative no. tagged

10

100 000

2

50 000

1 0

0

Year

Research Tagging in Marine Protected Areas Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

De Hoop Marine Protected Area (Western Cape) Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area (Eastern Cape) Goukamma Marine Protected Area (Western Cape) iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area (KwaZulu-Natal) Pondoland Marine Protected Area (Eastern Cape)

12

Period

1985 - current 2009 - current 2001 - current 2001 - current 2006 - current

2019

Overall

Total

# Recapt.

Total

# Recapt.

1151 685 103 608 266

57 30 3 58 59

60229 3920 865 10474 4791

4419 132 31 1368 1216

New ORI Tagging Videos The Oceanographic Research Institute’s Cooperative Fish Tagging Project (ORI-CFTP) has recently released 15 new instructional tagging videos for our new tagging members, current members and members of the angling public.

These videos will provide you with the background to the ORI-CFTP and what we need from anglers, as well as give you some important tips on how to be a more aware and responsible angler.

These tagging videos cover all aspects of the ORI-CFTP including: why tag and release a fish; your tagging kit contents; priority species we would like tagged; different hook types and preparation; how to measure different species; handling, landing and tagging various species from the shore and on a boat; recording and sending in tag release information; and most importantly reporting a recapture and filling in a tag recapture form. Viewers can also see how to handle a fish that may be suffering from barotrauma, a common occurrence in some species caught off a boat.

Included are videos on various hook types, knots and de-barbing hooks that ensure quick and safe hook removal from your fish. For new and existing members there are tips on kit maintenance. We encourage all our tagging members to watch and share these useful videos widely.

We thank the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) for funding, and Billi-Jean Parker and Lynton Richards from Ocean Planet Media, for editing and creating these fantastic videos.

Videos can be found here: ORI Tag website

SAAMBR website

SAAMBR YouTube Channel

How to report the recapture of a tagged fish This video below provides all the information that you need to correctly report tag recapture information.

Tag recaptures are one of the most important and exciting aspects of the Oceanographic Research Institute’s Cooperative Fish Tagging Project (ORI-CFTP). Recaptured fish allow us to investigate movement patterns, growth rates and population dynamics of the fish species tagged along the southern African coastline and ultimately contribute towards their conservation. What makes the ORI-CFTP so interesting and exciting is seeing where a recaptured fish was originally tagged; how far it has travelled; who originally tagged it and how much it has grown. As anyone who is fishing in the sea stands a chance of catching a tagged fish, it is very important to know exactly what information to record and how to send it to ORI.

13

Main fish species tagged up to 31 December 2019 Priority species for tagging are highlighted in blue Species

No. Tagged since 1984

Recaptured since 1984

Km travelled

Days free Species

No.

%

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

No. Tagged since 1984

Recaptured since 1984

Km travelled

Days free

No.

%

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Galjoen

67056

4643

7%

42

1892

431

5815

Dageraad

1360

92

7%

23

592

379

1753

Dusky kob

21929

1522

7%

27

1625

339

5997

Grey grunter

1335

81

6%

1

21

232

1099

1306

78

6%

61

280

253

1449

Leervis / Garrick

17612

1249

7%

224

2060

321

3208

Westcoast steenbras

Dusky shark

14996

1289

9%

60

1374

103

2772

Cape stumpnose

1253

8

1%

9

56

188

732

Spotted grunter

14329

382

3%

11

823

268

2950

Scotsman

1253

345

28%

24

1211

466

2839

Copper / Bronze whaler shark

10162

329

3%

160

1790

431

3981

Duckbill ray

1200

12

1%

15

123

575

1427

Spotted gullyshark

9580

644

7%

31

911

537

6332

Silver kob

1161

47

4%

35

548

268

839

Elf / Shad

9232

357

4%

273

1676

165

1437

Blacktip shark

1102

40

4%

90

1288

213

1148

Soupfin shark / Vaalhaai Scalloped hammerhead shark

1096

29

3%

127

1034

737

3586

1039

18

2%

121

629

329

2943

Skipjack tuna

1033

1

0%

1061

1061

464

464

Blacktail / Dassie

9136

222

2%

6

358

273

2715

White steenbras

7850

392

5%

39

804

293

2262

Blackspotted smoothhound shark Lesser guitarfish / Sandshark

7520

220

3%

44

582

571

4405

6589

73

1%

44

726

344

2572

Giant / Cape yellowtail

1021

41

4%

170

1746

320

1380

Raggedtooth shark

6572

953

15%

190

2966

741

8256

Stone bream

1007

9

1%

75

524

242

563

Giant guitarfish / Sandshark

5241

391

7%

31

360

344

2639

Yellowfin tuna

999

14

1%

804

5645

319

1314

Slinger

5186

204

4%

32

1110

227

2814

Leopard catshark

950

134

14%

11

722

330

4431

Roman

5069

329

6%

4

294

371

7301

Milk shark

949

25

3%

90

363

187

772

Bronze bream

4220

131

3%

19

799

204

1465

Squaretail kob

919

63

7%

34

1619

150

2043

Largespotted pompano Black musselcracker / Poenskop Diamond / Butterfly ray Broadnose sevengill / cow shark

4152

76

2%

12

270

244

1372

Geelbek / Cape salmon

902

11

1%

105

904

335

2569

3997

302

8%

20

528

544

6809

Bigeye kingfish

847

39

5%

12

163

246

2751

3807

33

1%

180

1756

443

2184

Black marlin

841

3

0%

1382

3633

163

240

3803

238

6%

73

1154

505

4332

Blacktip kingfish

834

28

3%

4

54

146

545

Giant kingfish

3733

146

4%

16

419

370

2226

Honeycomb stingray

826

18

2%

1

8

313

2543

Yellowbelly rockcod

3708

647

17%

5

355

367

3309

Dark shyshark

721

148

21%

4

86

124

1097

Catface rockcod

3590

809

23%

5

525

173

2867

Eagle ray

713

6

1%

10

49

495

1582

Sailfish

3573

29

1%

61

1060

150

727

Spinner / Longnosed blacktip shark

698

24

3%

92

1055

195

1295

Blue stingray

3406

11

0%

35

234

310

1085

Seventy-four

697

25

4%

51

521

489

2845

Zebra / Wildeperd

3374

75

2%

2

52

236

1399

596

9

2%

87

340

344

870

White musselcracker / Brusher Carpenter / Silverfish

Hardnosed smoothhound shark

2884

86

3%

63

843

563

3499

Natal seacatfish

595

230

39%

0

22

362

2586

2601

24

1%

46

290

932

4766

Potato bass

589

29

5%

2

22

336

2639

563

15

3%

1

12

102

279

Speckled snapper

2585

979

38%

3

200

281

2376

Baardman / Belman / Tasslefish

Janbruin / John Brown

2449

36

1%

1

17

455

4870

Tiger shark

562

25

4%

281

4067

380

1823

Santer / Soldier

2264

161

7%

18

490

238

1683

Striped marlin

560

2

0%

805

848

202

379

Striped catshark

1970

148

8%

6

381

323

2597

Great white shark

509

17

3%

290

1543

346

959

Sharpnose stingray

1914

7

0%

7

24

167

465

Halfmoon rockcod

506

91

18%

1

49

490

2511

Smooth hammerhead shark

1753

21

1%

139

384

577

3075

Bonefish

496

4

1%

10

34

122

354

Ladyfish / Springer

1739

34

2%

22

412

337

1426

Bull / Zambezi shark

488

31

6%

75

539

334

2599

462

3

1%

4

12

376

1044

Natal stumpnose / Yellowfin bream Red / Copper steenbras

1721

51

3%

13

230

237

1451

Queen mackerel / Natal snoek

1719

171

10%

118

923

831

8080

Blue marlin

445

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Perch / River bream

1582

218

14%

4

700

370

1583

Southern pompano

431

26

6%

62

464

151

848

Albacore / Longfin tuna River snapper / Rock salmon King mackerel / Cuda Brassy / Greenspot kingfish

1516

36

2%

304

1008

412

2585

Brown shyshark

419

31

7%

13

102

295

997

395

57

14%

2

44

273

1856

Cavebass / Lampfish

1373

14

1496

288

19%

3

391

315

2403

Pickhandle barracuda

1392

57

4%

387

1552

566

2604

Red stumpnose

387

9

2%

13

107

834

1998

1384

77

6%

11

757

290

1441

White stumpnose

383

5

1%

3

7

245

463

2284

Talang / Largemouth queenfish

379

16

4%

1

10

193

630

210

15%

10

514

331

Main fish species tagged up to 31 December 2019 Priority species for tagging are highlighted in blue Species

No. Tagged since 1984

Recaptured since 1984

Km travelled

Days free

No.

%

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

Species

No. Tagged since 1984

Recaptured since 1984

Km travelled

Days free

No.

%

Avg.

Max.

Avg.

Max.

82

1

1%

36

36

120

120

Puffadder shyshark

377

35

9%

1

20

217

1363

Spotted spiny dogfish

Hottentot

376

15

4%

1

10

267

1078

Swordfish

79

1

1%

9

9

1263

1263

Lemonfish

362

17

5%

4

64

230

749

Bigeye stumpnose

75

3

4%

8

21

42

59

Flapnose houndshark

336

43

13%

1

43

659

3013

Longfin kingfish

72

1

1%

12

12

453

453

Sandbar shark

334

6

2%

166

345

250

536

Longfin / Tropical yellowtail

69

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Eastern little tuna / Kawakawa

318

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Banded catshark

68

8

12%

16

55

423

1155

Banded galjoen

308

8

3%

70

562

232

507

Striped mullet

66

1

2%

1

1

230

230

Bartail flathead

306

8

3%

2

18

501

1947

Java shark

63

2

3%

14

18

67

76

Blackspot shark

293

8

3%

29

192

214

708

Blue kingfish

60

0

0%

0

0

0

0

60

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Spearnose skate

292

10

3%

1

3

190

462

Yellowspotted kingfish

Bluefin kingfish

289

10

3%

13

94

140

260

Sailfin rubberlip

59

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Bluntnose spiny dogfish St. Joseph / Elephant fish

274

4

1%

189

669

615

1476

Round ribbontail ray

58

2

3%

4

8

45

74

273

1

0%

1342

1342

218

218

Cape moony

56

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Snapper kob

253

10

4%

20

132

170

378

56

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Blue emperor

252

18

7%

32

307

318

975

Doublespotted queenfish Greater yellowtail / Amberjack

56

1

2%

77

77

27

27

Blue hottentot

244

7

3%

0

0

108

199

Sand steenbras

56

2

4%

0

0

40

79

55

1

2%

0

0

227

227

Malabar rockcod

226

31

14%

1

8

219

1540

Needlescaled queenfish

White seacatfish

205

4

2%

14

21

595

1895

Yellowtail scad

51

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Whitespotted smoothhound Greyspot guitarfish / Sandshark

199

5

3%

6

15

678

1627

Dusky rubberlip

50

2

4%

92

183

1495

2345

187

1

1%

6

6

51

51

Minstrel rubberlip

49

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Englishman

187

9

5%

1

6

281

640

Prodigal son / Cobia

49

1

2%

36

36

479

479

Snoek

181

1

1%

136

136

491

491

Marbled electric ray

48

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Concertina-fish

47

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Thintail thresher

47

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Panga

45

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Javelin grunter

170

16

9%

9

70

378

2940

Dorado / Dolphinfish Green jobfish / Kaakap

160

1

1%

64

64

66

66

160

6

4%

0

0

229

373

Spadefish

45

1

2%

118

118

2724

2724

Short-tail stingray

152

4

3%

60

231

627

2412

Shortfin mako

45

5

11%

24

69

253

786

Spotted eagleray

151

3

2%

205

597

518

850

44

4

9%

0

0

7

11

Striped threadfin

141

2

1%

5

9

51

63

Swallowtail rockcod False thornback skate Yellowfin emperor

43

2

5%

0

0

194

340

42

4

10%

0

0

441

1187

Shortbill spearfish

41

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Wreckfish

39

2

5%

4

7

231

388

Blue shark

38

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Steentjie

37

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Smallspotted pompano

129

4

3%

3

13

211

439

Tomato rockcod

116

19

16%

2

22

209

574

Cock grunter

113

5

4%

14

65

144

490

Grey reef shark

109

2

2%

0

0

115

213

Great barracuda

104

23

22%

0

1

170

467

German

37

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Flathead mullet

102

1

1%

738

738

738

738

Koester

36

1

3%

0

0

1176

1176

Thorntail stingray

102

2

2%

0

0

295

357

Manta

35

1

3%

6

6

39

39

Bludger kingfish

34

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Indian goatfish

34

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Tripletail

32

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Surge wrasse

32

1

3%

0

0

34

34

Milkfish

31

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Wahoo Captain Fine / White-spotted rockcod Mackerel

31

1

3%

0

0

18

18

30

0

0%

0

0

0

0

30

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Twinspot snapper

30

5

17%

2

4

139

363

Russell's snapper

101

3

3%

0

1

328

896

Moustache rockcod

100

35

35%

36

1200

469

2990

Eel-catfish

97

1

1%

1

1

47

47

Cape gurnard

97

2

2%

0

0

207

377

Whitebarred rubberlip

95

1

1%

1

1

176

176

Atlantic bonito

91

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Maasbanker

88

0

0%

0

0

0

0

Sliteye shark

88

2

2%

291

565

1334

2652

Oxeye tarpon

82

0

0%

0

0

0

0

15

Bigeye Kingie Recapture Riekert van Heerden “I have an exciting story to tell you today. It pertains to the long-standing ORI tagging programme, of which the pros and cons are often feverishly debated by its proponents and critics.

I have been a public member of the ORI tagging programme since its year of inception, more than 30 years ago. But this morning early the most remarkable thing happened to me that I think very few have the privilege to experience, whether you tag fish or not.

The length measurements revealed that this fish had grown 25 mm since 18 March 2019. The fact that it was recaptured in the exact same location shows that it is highly resident. Now if this is not worthwhile scientific information then I don’t know what is.

So all the critics of the ORI tagging programme take note of this success story. I do certainly agree with the critics that not all fish are handled and tagged as they should.

And this can certainly be to the detriment of the fish being tagged. But if done correctly, valuable scientific On 18 March 2019 I caught a bigeye kingfish from the information can be gleaned from the tagging efforts by shore here in Durban on a prototype pink glow slow the public participants in the programme. pitch jigging spoon that I was testing at that stage.

So how can we make progress on addressing some I remember this particular fish well, especially how of the criticisms against the ORI tagging programme?

I treated it whilst in my care. After landing the fish it I would like to end this remarkable story by making a went head first immediately into a bucket of sea water suggestion to ORI: to ensure that it was kept out of water for as short as possible. I only handled the fish with wet hands. I tagged Education is king. Educate your members. The best the fish with an impeccably clean tagging applicator. practice tagging manual and video is on the ORI website, And then I took a quick selfie and released the fish. but do new members really study this content?

What about developing an online test which new members must first pass at a very high mark before the tagging kit is made available to them. This will force new members to engage with the manual and study it. Ultimately this will ensure that more fish are being tagged correctly. It will also ensure that only persons that are truly committed to tagging join the programme.

I hope I see my special friend again one day.�

22 November 2019

18 March 2019

Well this morning, 22 November 2019, I was spinning at the exact same spot where I tagged and released the fish. I noted a shoal of these bigeye kingfish hanging around a piece of reef. Each time I cast the spoon close to the shoal, the fish scattered in all directions but then congregated again. I could not raise a proper bite on the CID pink glow couta no 2 spoon that I had on. So I downscaled to the smaller no 1 version. I again cast at the shoal with the fish scattering in all directions. But this time I went tight!

I subsequently landed the fish and saw that it had a tag.

The fish was clearly in good condition and feisty during the brief fight. While keeping the fish in a bucket of sea water I scraped the thin layer of algal growth off the tag to reveal the tag number. I also measured the fork length of the fish before releasing it back into the sea.

When I checked my tagging database later this morning I was astonished to discover that I have recaptured the same fish that I tagged on 18 March this year! What are the chances of this happening when you throw a lure into a shoal of fish?

16

Exciting recaptures from 2019

On the 30th December 2018 we had our 945th raggedtooth shark tag recapture. This female raggie was originally tagged by Maarten Moelenaar on the 27th April 2012 in St Francis Bay measuring 176 cm PCL, before later being recaptured by Clinton Dunk at the Amatikulu River measuring 192 cm PCL. She was recaptured a distance of 964 km north from where she was originally tagged being at liberty for about 6.6 years. This migration shows typical female raggie behaviour as they are known to mate in warmer waters off the east coast and then migrate back to the cooler waters of the south coast to pup in known nursery areas (Klein et al. 2019).

On the 30th December 2018 we had our 392nd white steenbras tag recapture. This fish was originally tagged by Deon Kotze on the 12th July 2014 at Fresh Water/Brandfontein measuring 582 mm FL, before being recaptured 4.6 years later by JP Liebenberg, now measuring 827 mm FL. It was recaptured in the same location, suggesting that this fish may have remained resident in the area. White steenbras are generally known to be a migratory species with individuals larger than 500 mm often undertaking large-scale migrations.

However, there are also those that seem to remain resident as seen with this tag recapture.

However, it is also possible that this fish had moved and come back to the same place during its 4.6 years at liberty. Fortunately we are now just starting to unravel this mystery with the use of acoustic telemetry.

17

Exciting recaptures from 2019

On the 7th April 2019 we had our 13th duckbill ray tag recapture (out of 1 182 tag releases) in over 34 years! This ray was originally tagged by Armand van der Walt on the 10th Feb 2016 at Heuningnes River / Die Mond measuring 138 cm width, before later being recaptured

by MJ Smit at Die Las / Deurloop now measuring 149 cm width. The ray was recaptured a distance of 10 km south from where it was originally tagged and was at liberty for 3.1 years. This is a great recapture due to the scarcity of ray recaptures in the ORI Cooperative Fish Tagging Project.

On the 15th April 2019 we had our 968th raggedtooth shark tag recapture. This female raggie was originally tagged by Coenraad van Greunen on the 7th February 2015 at New Brighton Beach / North End measuring 187 cm PCL, before later being recaptured three times over the next four years. The first recapture was by Ferdie Botha at Van Der Riets / Hougham Park on the 31st October 2015 measuring 190 cm PCL; the second recapture was by Wade Botha at Kleinemonde, more than three years later, on the 10th November 2018 measuring 204 cm PCL; and the third recapture was by Raymond Deyzel at Algoa Bay / Sundays River on the 15th April 2019 measuring 209 cm. Overall she moved a distance of about 784 km over 4.1 years and grew about 22 cm. This female raggie was most likely recaptured during her migrations further north for mating and gestation and back south to pup (Klein et al. 2019).

Raggies are one of the top species from the tagging project that are recaptured multiple times (91 multiple recaptures to date).

18

Exciting recaptures from 2019

On the 14th November 2019 we had our 332nd roman (Chrysoblephus laticeps) tag recapture for the ORI Cooperative Fish Tagging Project. This recapture is truly remarkable as this species was previously recorded to only live for a maximum of 19 years (Gรถtz, 2005), however this recapture surpasses that age as this fish spent more than 20 years at liberty! This roman was originally tagged by a team of scientists from the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) on the 18th November 1999 measuring 312 mm FL at Lekkerwater, in the De Hoop Marine Protected Area (MPA), before it was recaptured 7 301 days (20 years) later by these same scientists in exactly the same location on the 14th November 2019 measuring 470 mm FL. During this time not only did this fish change sex from female to male (protogynous hermaphrodite) but it stayed true to its colours as it showed high residency and a very slow growth rate by only growing 158 mm in 20 years. This recapture is another perfect example of just how important data from the Tagging Project is, and how MPAs play an essential role in protecting highly resident species like this. This fish was released again, hopefully to be recaptured in the future and provide us with even more exciting data. The ongoing commitment of the scientific team conducting the research in the De Hoop MPA is gratefully acknowledged.

On the 23rd December 2019 we had our 372nd Elf/Shad tag recapture for the ORI Tagging Project. This shad was originally tagged on the 21st February 2018 by a team of scientists from the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) measuring 511 mm FL at Lekkerwater, Western Cape (which is part of the De Hoop Marine Protected Area). It was recaptured 670 days (1.8 years) later by Gary Heath in Richards Bay measuring 720 mm FL, having moved an impressive 1 496 km north! Adult and subadult shad generally undertake an annual northward seasonal migration between the Cape and KZN. The arrival of shad in KZN coincides with the onset of spawning activity. These shad feed primarily on sardines, which also undergo a northward migration during winter. There is an annual, nationwide two-month closed season for this species, from 1 October to 30 November, to protect shad during their peak breeding season.

19

De Hoop catch statistics now online Colin Attwood and Denham Parker Recreational fishing statistics are not easily gathered nor converted into usable data for tracking fish abundance, unlike commercial statistics. The aim of the fish monitoring project at the De Hoop Marine Protected Area is to provide a continuous and reliable source of information on the status of recreationally targeted surf-zone fish. Until now the data have been held at Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), and reported in a few scientific publications only, but now a new app has made the trends available to the public in a user-friendly format via the internet.

De Hoop is one of several marine protected areas (MPAs) on the South African coast where fishing is prohibited. Since its promulgation in 1985, fish in De Hoop have been undisturbed by fishing. One of the objectives of the MPA is to aid in the protection and recovery of species that have been severely reduced along the Cape’s south coast. To monitor the status of fish populations and the efficacy of the MPA, Lieze Swart of the DEFF runs a research project at De Hoop, involving scientists and volunteer anglers. The fish monitoring occurs at two sites in the MPA: Koppie Alleen and Lekkerwater. Each site is sampled three times annually. Anglers catch, tag and release fish, recording vital information on their abundance, size and movement patterns. The project began in 1984, one year before the MPA was established, and has continued ever since, making it the longest project of its kind and the largest single contributor to the ORI-CFTP. We developed an app (on the R SHINY platform) to communicate the De Hoop monitoring results to the public. R SHINY is a package in the statistical freeware R that allows you to build user-friendly web interfaces, providing often complicated and in-depth data analysis to the public in a simple, easy to understand format. The app presents the results of 35 years of fish survey data: total catch, catch-per-unit-effort, size-structure data and fish movement for each species. Species of interest can be selected in a drop-down menu and data can be disaggregated according to sampling area (Koppie Alleen or Lekkerwater) and year (1984-2019) using interactive toggle switches and slide bars that are intuitive to users.

The catch-per-unit-effort data provide an index that scientists use to measure the abundance of fish. One might expect the abundance of fish to be stable in a MPA, without the removal of fish, but for some species, such as galjoen, there are definite cycles in the data which are influenced by environmental factors. Also evident are notable differences between the two sites (which are only 11 km apart) not only in magnitude but also in trends, which again point to the strong local habitat effects. The data help us to understand the relative impacts of fishing and the environment on fish abundance.

The size structures of captured fishes are equally fascinating as they reflect communities of fish that, for the most part, are allowed to live a normal life-span. Their sizes are on average greater than what you might expect to catch outside MPAs. Scientists use this information to gauge the natural rate of fish mortality, and by comparison with exploited areas, the rate at which fish are removed by anglers, or fishing mortality rate. As a rule of thumb, the fishing mortality rate should not exceed the natural rate of mortality. Fish movement data are also included, although ORI have been reporting these same statistics since the start of the project.

Find the data on the De Hoop Fish Monitoring Website. The app is a collaborative effort by Matt Horton, Denham Parker and Colin Attwood.

20

Focus species: Spotted grunter (Pomadasys commersonnii) Movement:

Resident. Despite making seaward migrations to spawn, spotted grunter are largely resident to one estuary.

Extreme weather events such as floods can displace resident individuals from their home estuaries.

Total number tagged: 14 329 Number recaptured: 382 (3%) Longest time free: 2 950 days or 8 years (2002 to 2010) Longest distance moved: 823 km (from Gamtoos River, EC to Durban Harbour, KZN) Growth:

Relatively slow growth rate, males reach maturity after 2.5 years (33 cm TL), females reach maturity at 3 years (39 cm TL)

Max size:

9.5 kg; 91 cm FL

Max age:

19 years

Breeding season: August – December in KZN, summer months in the EC and WC. Breeding location: They likely spawn along the entire east coast of South Africa in coastal waters, often

adjacent to estuary mouths and in harbours.

Feeding:

In estuaries they feed on crustaceans such as sand and mud prawns and molluscs such as pencil bait.

Distribution:

The entire eastern seaboard of South Africa (Mozambique, KZN, EC, WC).

21

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Postal address: PO Box 736 Durban 4000

The Tagging News is edited by Gareth Jordaan, Bruce Mann and Colette Bodenstaff

24www.oritag.org.za