Fishing

LICENSES 

UPDATE December 2023: You can get a permit ONLINE. Go to https://www.fishing.dffe.gov.za/ords/r/epermit/permitwebapp/login and "create a new account".

Fishing, spearfishing, boating and crayfish licenses (amongst others) are available from any Post Office in South Africa.

CLOSED SEASONS 
Elf/Shad: 1 September -30 November

Galjoen: 15 October -last day February
Crayfish: 1 November - end February (bag limit is 8 crayfish per person/license.)

East Coast Rock Lobster (Crayfish) Regulations
1. Closed season: 1 November to the last day of February of the following year, both dates inclusive.

2. Minimum size: 65 mm - measured in a straight line from the point where the tail meets the body to the tip of the spine between the rock lobster’s eyes.

3. No person may collect more than eight east coast rock lobster per day.

4. No person may be in possession of or transport more than eight east coast rock lobster at any time.

5. No person shall engage in fishing, collecting or disturbing east coast rock lobster with the use of a vessel.

6. No person shall engage in fishing, collecting or disturbing any East Coast rock lobster with a trap other than:

6.1 a flat circular trap with no sides and which diameter does not exceed 30 cm;

or

6.2 by means of baited hooks.

For more information phone: (021) 402-3911 or consult the Amended Regulations (R24 of 14 January 2000) in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998

MARINE RECREATIONAL FISHING

GENERAL REGULATIONS
1. No person shall, except on authority of a recreational permit obtainable from the South African Postal Services, engage in recreational fishing.

2. No person shall sell, barter or trade any fish caught through recreational fishing.

3. No recreational fishing permit is transferable from one person to another.

4. A persona of a recreational permit shall not use any artificial breathing apparatus, other that a snorkel.

5. No person shall, engage in fishing, collect or disturb any fish by means of a gaff, club, flail, stick, stone or similar implement.

6. No person shall engage in fishing, except for octopus, cuttlefish or squid, by the jerking of a hook or jig in the sea jigging), with the intention of impaling the fish thereon.

7. No person shall engage in the fishing, collection or disturbing of any fish with a speargun in a tidal river or tidal lagoon.

8. No person shall use any cast net for fishing from sunset to sunrise.

9. No person shall disturb, catch, kill or be in possession of any dolphin or any part or product derived thereof.

10. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, disturb, catch or kill any whales at any time, or approach closer than 300 m to a whale.

11. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, attract by using bait or any other means, any great white shark, or catch, attempt to catch, kill or attempt to kill any great white shark, or purchase, sell or offer for sale any part or product derived thereof.

12. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, damage, uproot, collect or land or attempt to damage, uproot, collect or land any live or dead coral.

13. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, engage in fishing, collecting or disturbing any live or empty pansy shell.

14. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, engage in fishing, collecting or removing any aquatic plants, except for own use and in quantities not exceeding 10 kg aquatic plants, however, 1 kg dead shells or 50 kg shellgrit per day is permitted without a permit.

15. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, damage, pick, uproot, collect or land or attempt to damage, pick, uproot, collect or land any live or dead sea fans or sea pens.

16. No person shall, without a permit issued by the Director-General, culture any marine organisms.

17. No person shall, except with the authority of a permit, catch any fish or collect any aquatic plants for commercial purposes.

For more information phone: (021) 402-3911 or consult the Amended Regulations (R24 of 14 January 2000) in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998

Official Common Name: South African sardine 

Common names:pilchard, sardine monterrey (Spanish), sardine du Pacifique (French)

Sardines are small pelagic fish of the order Clupeiformes found in the upper layers (0 - 200m depth) of the ocean. Sardines are particularly abundant in upwelling regions because of high nutrient production that stimulates phytoplankton and zooplankton growth, which is the food source of these and other small pelagic fish. They are short–lived, fast growing and have high levels of natural mortality (large scale death) (Barange et al., 2009). Sardines occur in temperatures of 13-22°C around the South African coast, can live up to six or eight years (van der Lingen et al., 2006), and can reach close to 25 cm standard length which is measured from the tip of the head to just before the tail/caudal fin (van der Lingen et al., 2009; Hampton, 2014). Sardines are the main target of the country’s small pelagic fishery which has been in operation since the 1940s (Crawford et al., 1987). The term sardine was first used in English during the early 15th century and may come from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where sardines were once abundant.

How to recognise sardine

The body of a sardine is long and cylindrical with a series of 1-3 dark spots along the side. On the lower part of the gill cover there is a clear cut bony groove radiating downwards. The belly is rounded with specialized scales called scutes, and the back is a blue green colour. Sardines have one fin on the back called a dorsal fin, and a fin located underneath close to the anal pore (anal fin) usually with 12 to 29 rays (Nelson, 1994). Sardinops sagax was previously known as Sardinops ocellatus, Clupea ocellatus and Sardinops occelata (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999).

Getting around
The cylindrical body form with fins of the sardine enables it to swim easily up and down the water column. Sardines are migratory species; they migrate to specialized grounds for spawning and migrate back to their usual grounds after spawning (van der Lingen et al. 2010). Spawning is the process of releasing gametes (sperm and/or egg) into the water column.

Communicating
Sardines are schooling fish found swimming together in large groups. They don’t have a certain mode of communication except that vibration in the water column can alert the other fish about what is happening during their schooling activity.

Distribution
Southern African distribution of Sardinops sagax extends from southern Angola (14°S and 10°E) off the west coast of South Africa, to north of Durban off the east coast of South Africa (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999). Sardinops sagax is only found off the east coast during the ‘sardine run’, which is a migration where sardines leave the Agulhas Bank and move to the east coast in late May/early June every year (van der Lingen et al., 2010a; 2010b). Sardinops is found distributed in five upwelling regions globally; the Kuroshio-Oyashio current system off Japan, California current system, Humboldt Current system from the south of Peru to the north of Chile, European Bay of Cadiz to the North Sea and western Baltic Sea, and the Benguela current system off the west coast of Southern Africa (Checkley et al., 2009).

Habitat
Sardines inhabit temperate coastal and shelf waters around most of South Africa’s coasts.

Sardines usually occupy the sea water depth of up to 200m. Sardines undergo diurnal vertical migration which is a phenomenon where fish migrate to the surface water at dusk and move to the deeper ocean at dawn (Giannoulaki et al., 1999), driven by the presence of light.

Food
Sardines are planktivores that feed on both phytoplankton and zooplankton but derive most of their dietary input from small zooplankton such as copepods (van der Lingen, 2002). They filter-feed by swimming slowly with their mouths wide open and operculae flared and use their finely-meshed gill rakers to strain their food from the water.

SEX and LIFE CYCLES
Sex:
Spawning of the west and south coast S. sagax occurs in spring and late summer (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999; van der Lingen and Hugget, 2003; Miller et al., 2006). Sardinops sagax in the west coast system spawn on the western Agulhas Bank and off the west coast, and recruit (larval settlement until juvenile stage) on west coast nursery grounds, while S. sagax in the Agulhas Bank system spawn on the central and eastern Agulhas Bank and recruit on south coast nursery grounds (Miller et al., 2006). Eggs and larvae are transported by currents from spawning areas to the nursery grounds (van der Lingen & Huggett, 2003; Coetzee et al., 2008). Juveniles then migrate from the nursery grounds to the south and/or west coast where they reach sexual maturity after two years. Female S. sagax spawn repeatedly and can release up to 27,500 eggs per spawning event (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999; Hampton, 2014).

There is a possibility of a third S. sagax stock occurring off the east coast of KZN during the annual winter migration of S. sagax (van der Lingen et al., 2010a). Sardinops sagax eggs occur in winter during the sardine run off Park Rynie (70 km south of Durban) (Connell, 2010; Fréon, et al., 2010), but are not found there during the remainder of the year (Connell, 2010).

Family life:

Sardines are found throughout the entire coast of Southern Africa. They tend to occur in large schools. There is evidence of three discrete sardine stocks in South Africa; western, southern and the eastern stock with different morphological characteristics.  The western and southern stocks are separated by Cape Agulhas; the western stock occurs from the west of Cape Agulhas, and the southern stock from the east of Cape Agulhas. The third stock occurs off the east coast of KZN during the annual winter migration of S. sagax (van der Lingen et al., 2010a).

THE BIG PICTURE

 Friends and Foes
Sardinops sagax are commercially harvested in upwelling and other regions around the globe and together with other small pelagic fish such as anchovy (Engraulis spp.) and round herring (Etrumeus spp.) account for around ¼ of the world’s marine fish catch (Barange et al., 2009; Checkley et al., 2009).  Sardines are the main prey of a variety of predators including other fish such as yellowtail, hakes, tuna, and sharks; marine mammals such as seals, dolphins and whales; and seabirds such as African penguin and Cape gannet (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999).  

Smart Strategies
Sardines use diurnal migration as protection from predators. Sardines scatter as they migrate to the surface and concentrate to form shoals when they descend to the ocean depth. Also, sardines have a light colored abdomen and dark colored back which acts as camouflage from predators. When sardines are approached by predators, they gather together to form what is called a swarming. Swarming helps to confuse predators into thinking that the prey is bigger and they struggle with targeting one fish from the group. There are better chances of survival when sardines swim in groups than as individuals.

Poorer world without
Pelagic fish form an important link in the marine food web where they transfer energy produced by plankton to large-bodied predatory fish, seabirds, and marine mammals (Barange et al., 2009).

People
Sardines form part of a big fishery and are important to the country for several reasons. The purse-seine fishery in which they are caught is South Africa’s largest fishery in terms of landed mass (the amount and the weight of fish caught) and second only to the hake fishery in terms of value (Barange et al., 2009).  This fishery employs a large workforce in fishing and related industries. Also, pelagic fish are an important and high-quality source of protein. They are used as food source for humans and pets, and as bait (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999; van der Lingen, 2002).

Conservation status and what the future holds

In South Africa, the fishery for S. sagax has been initially managed assuming a single stock using an operational management procedure (OMP) to set total allowable catch levels (TACs). Recently, there has been evidence for the occurrence of three sardine stocks (Coetzee et al., 2008; van der Lingen et al., 2015; Weston et al., 2015) which has management implications. The current fishing pressure and stock status of sardine is assessed as being optimal (DAFF, 2014); meaning that current rates of fishingare sustainable.

Sardines have been exploited by purse-seine fisheries in the Benguela system off Namibia and South Africa (Lluch-Belda et al., 1989) for several decades. Catches of S. sagax by the purse-seine fishery have fluctuated between 15 000 tonnes and 400 000 tonnes per annum with periods of high catches followed by rapid declines. In 2012 the S. sagax catch was about 98 000 tonnes which was the highest catch since 2007. There was a reduction of the total allowable catch (TAC) in 2013 to 90 000 tonnes which is the minimum allowed catch under the current operational management procedure (OMP) used to manage this resource (DAFF, 2014).

RELATIVES
Within the Clupeiformes, the suborder Clupeoidei consists of 397 species which are classified into five families (Lavoué et al., 2013), namely the Clupeidae with 55 genera and 205 species, the Engraulidae with 145 species from 17 genera, the Pristigateridae with nine genera and 38 species, the Sundasalangidae with one genus consisting of 7 species and the Chirocentridae with two species from one genus. The Clupeidae is divided further into four subfamilies, namely the Alosinae, Clupeinae, Ehiravine and Dorosomatinae. A temperate sub-family Alosinae is divided into four genera; Sardinops and Sardina are more closely related than are Alosa and Brevoortia. Sardinops sagax is one of 13 species in the family Clupeidae occurring in Southern African waters (Beckley and van der Lingen, 1999).

Official Common Name: South African sardine 
Scientific Name and Classification:
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Subphylum:Vertebrata
Class:Actinoptergyii
Order:Clupeiformes
Family:Clupeidae
Genus: Sardinops
Species:S. sagax (Jenyns, 1842) 

Derivation of scientific name
Common names:pilchard, sardine monterrey (Spanish), sardine du Pacifique (French) 

https://www.sanbi.org/creature/South%20African%20sardine

The rules for navigation lights on fishing vessels are relatively 
straightforward. There are no exceptions for particular geographic areas,
and the International and Inland versions are the same. The navigation
lights in this Rule are for those vessels "engaged in fishing" as defined
in Rule 3 whose maneuverability is restricted by their fishing apparatus.

Rule 26 separates vessels engaged in fishing into two classes: vessels 
trawling, and all others. The basic lighting rules are the same for the two
classes except that trawlers use a green all-round light while others use a
red one.

The lighting requirements for vessels engaged in fishing distinguish 
between vessels making way through the water and those that are stopped,
that is, drifting or anchored. Also related to that is the provision that
anchored vessels engaged in fishing be lighted as would a drifting fishing
vessel. Hence, those anchored vessels should ignore the Rule 30 lighting
requirements. (See paragraph (a) of this Rule)

Paragraph (d) refers the reader to the Annex II optional lights for vessels
fishing in a "fleet." These Annex II lights, which provide close-by fishing
vessels information, can only be displayed in the company of other vessels
engaged in fishing.
One of the Annex II displays, a white light over a red light for a trawler
hauling its nets, could be mistaken for the lights of a pilot vessel. While
Rule 29 requires a pilot vessel to display a white over a red light. with
either sidelights and sternlight if underway or anchor light if anchored,
Rule 26 requires a trawler to display green over white lights. Note that
the optional white-over-red Annex II lights will be displayed at a lower
level than the green-over-white and that they will not be as bright.

Fishing vessels not "engaged in fishing" must display the lights for an 
ordinary power-driven or sailing vessel, whichever is appropriate, in lieu
of Rule 26 lights.

http://navruleshandbook.com/Rule26.html

Be aware of illegal fishing vessels along the Wild Coast.

Especially during the Shad Season and Sardine Run from May through August!

There is now a permanent AIS monitoring station at Hole in the Wall, capable of monitoring all legal marine traffic along the Wild Coast.

If you see a suspicious ship, please check this page or: Marine Traffic Monitor

And if it is not transmitting its position and identity, please report it to the Fisheries dept at DAFF.

Report suspicious activity to: Mr Mbuli on 043 722 9640 or 078 319 3119

Male bottlenose dolphins live an average of between 40 and 45 years, while females can live over 50 years. Females reproduce every 3 to 6 years after they reach sexual maturity between the ages of 5 and 10.

The male bottlenose dolphin does not reach sexual maturity until between 8 and 13 years old, and he does not actually start reproducing until around 20 years old. Females lactate for around 18 months after birth, which imposes a significant metabolic burden on them, and they are the primary caregivers of their young. All the females in a group of bottlenose dolphins work together to raise their offspring.

The bottlenose dolphin is one of the world’s best known dolphins. There are two separate species, the Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncates, and the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops aduncus. Both species live in warm and temperate oceans worldwide. Tursiops truncates is further divided into two sub-species, Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus gillii, and the Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus ponticus. Large shark species prey on the bottlenose dolphin, especially the young. However, the dolphin has developed a mobbing behavior to protect the group which can be fatal to the shark. Even a single adult dolphin is dangerous prey for a shark of similar size.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) range in length from 8 to 12 feet and can weigh as much as 1400 pounds (635Kg). The males are larger than the females. The size of a dolphin varies with habitat. Those dolphins in warmer, shallower waters tend to have a smaller body than their cousins in cooler waters. They have a high, curved dorsal fin in the middle of the back. They have broad notched flukes, and pointed flippers. Bottlenose dolphin have between 18 and 26 pairs of sharp conical teeth on each side of the jaw. Bottlenose dolphins capture prey, sometimes as a group effort, and feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. When a shoal of fish is found dolphins work as a team to keep the fish close together and maximize the harvest. They also search for fish alone, often bottom dwelling species. An adult may eat as much as 30 pounds each day.

Bottlenose dolphins are found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters. They are frequently seen in harbors, bays, lagoons, estuaries, and river mouths. Bottlenose dolphins live in relatively open societies. Mother and calf will bond strongly, but otherwise the dolphins will be seen with a variety of different other individuals in groups ranging from 20 in the nearshore to several hundred in the open ocean.

Dolphins are known for friendly character and curiosity towards other species and humans in the ocean, and often investigate divers. Dolphins will raise injured dolphins to the surface to help them and occasionally have rescued divers the same way. There have been reports of groups of dolphin surrounding swimmers to protect them from sharks as they swam to the shore. They have also been documented leading beached whales to deeper water channels.

Bottlenose dolphins have a gestation of 12 months and calve year round. Males reach sexual maturity at about 10 years. Females reach sexual maturity at about 5-10 years and produce one offspring every two to three years. The mother nurses the calf for 12-18 months and the calf will stay with the mother for up to 6 years learning how to feed. Sometimes, the mother will get help from another female, referred to as an auntie, in caring for offspring. Female bottlenose dolphins live for about 40 years, the males live for about 30 years. During the mating season male dolphins compete very vigorously with each other through displays of toughness and size with a series of acts such as head butting.

Dolphins employ echolocation to search for food. Echolocation is similar to sonar. They locate objects by producing sounds and listening for the echo. A pulse of clicking sounds is emitted in a focused beam in front of the dolphin. To hear the returning echo they have two small ear openings behind the eyes but most sound waves are transmitted to the inner ear through the lower jaw. As the object of interest is approached the echo grows louder, and the dolphins adjust by decreasing the intensity of the emitted sounds. Bottlenose dolphin have good eyesight, and their eyes are equipped with a reflecting membrane which helps them see in low light. They have a poor sense of smell.

Dolphins communicate with one another through squeaks, whistles, and body language. Examples of body language include leaping out of the water, snapping jaws, slapping tails on the surface of the water, and butting heads with one another. These behaviors help keep track of other dolphins in the group and alert other dolphins to possible dangers and nearby food. They produce the sounds from air sacs near their blow hole and each dolphin has a unique signature whistle, as well as other communication sounds that are common to all in the group.

The Bottlenose dolphin has a single blowhole on the dorsal surface of the head. The blowhole can be closed by use of a muscular flap. A dolphin is able to exchange 80% or more of its lung air with each breath, and typically rises to the surface to breathe through its blowhole two times a minute. However, they can, if necessary, remain underwater for up to 20 minutes. Dolphins sleep for approximately 8 hours in every 24, in periods of from several minutes to several hours. During the sleeping cycle dolphins remain near the surface swimming slowly, occasionally closing one eye, and one brain hemisphere remains active while the other hemisphere shuts down.

Sources: SeaPics.Com / Reference.Com

UPDATE December 2023: You can get a recreational fishing/crayfish/mussel permits ONLINE. Go to https://www.fishing.dffe.gov.za/ords/r/epermit/permitwebapp/login and "create a new account".

IDENTIFICATION
Rock lobsters or spiny lobsters are popularly known as crayfish, but should be distinguished from the freshwater crayfish, which are considerably less popular in restaurants! Rock lobsters like crabs, belong to the crustacean family and have a horny exoskeleton (carapace) but they have a long tail ending with a tail fan. The East Coast rock lobster is brick red with orange spines and blue-green markings on the head.

There are two horns next to their eyes but unlike other species, there are no spines between these horns. The rock lobsters that may be sold in restaurants are either West Coast rock lobsters (Panulirus lalandii) or deep-water rock lobsters (Palinurus spp.) both have spines between their horns.

DISTRIBUTION
The East Coast rock lobster occurs from central Mozambique and Madagascar to East London. They inhabit rocky reefs in the surf zone at depths of 1-36 meters.

FEEDING
The most important prey of the East Coast rock lobster is the brown mussel <i>(Perna perna)</i>. They sever the byssus threads that hold the mussel and can crush the thin edge of the shell using their mouthparts. They also feed on limpets and will scavenge on the seabed.

GROWTH
Rock lobsters grow slowly, reaching sexual maturity after approximately 3 years when their carapace is 50-60 mm long. The legal size limit is 65 mm, to ensure that animals caught have had a chance to breed. If a rock lobster loses a leg or feeler, a new one is grown but then their overall growth is slower. It is therefore important not to damage undersize rock lobsters. Try to determine if an animal is the right size before attempting to catch it.

REPRODUCTION
Breeding occurs in summer and that is why we have a closed season from 1 November to the end of February: to protect the lobsters while they are brooding their eggs so these can hatch and replenish our stocks. Male rock lobsters place a packet of sperm on the underbelly of females. When the female is ready to lay eggs, she scratches open the packet to fertilise her eggs and then places them on the paddles (pleopods) under her tail. The eggs are tended there until they hatch. The larvae spend about five months in the currents out at sea and undergo metamorphosis 11 times before returning inshore. Larger female rock lobsters produce three times more eggs than smaller females.

FISHERY
In KwaZulu-Natal, rock lobsters may only be collected by permitted recreational harvesters. This sector collect 138 000 to 450 000 kg of rock lobster each year.

MANAGEMENT
The East Coast rock lobster stock is managed using a closed season, size limits, bag limits and gear limits. It is also illegal to possess any rock lobster carrying eggs.

With thanks to www.kznwildlife.co.za

 Every year in winter, vast shoals of sardines that have spawned in the waters of Antarctica travel the cold-water currents south of the East Coast of South Africa. Sometimes a combination of wind and current will allow a tongue of cold water to intrude into the warm waters of the Indian Ocean – and then millions upon millions of sardines come close enough to be seen from shore or even washed up on the beach. This phenomenon, which occurs no- where else on earth, can be witnessed from the beaches of the Wild Coast – if you are lucky enough to be there at the right time.

 From the air, the shoals look like huge dark clouds in the water. Each shoal has several ‘doughnuts’ – rings of clear water where the sardines are taking evasive action from sharks. On the surface of the sea the presence of shoals is signalled by huge flocks of sea-birds that follow the shoals. The surface seethes like boiling water as fish, predators and birds thrash in furious pursuit and escape.

On the beach the shoals come right into the shallows and the sea becomes alive and bright silver. The natural bounty is almost incomprehensible, and leads to a human condition called ‘Sardine Fever’, where bystanders rush into the water and catch the little fish in every single receptacle imaginable, including plastic wash-baskets, hats, aprons – even generous underwear is pressed into service.

The sardines are then sold to the unlucky few who could not get their own, or taken home for many future meals. The best way to cook these fish, say the pundits, is on an open fire, at sunset, right there on the beach, with plenty of rock salt and lemon juice. (All pictures copyright Alexander Safanov)

Source: GrindTV