The East Coast Fish-Watch Project is a South African Collaboration of Scientists and Amateur Ichthyologists
The ECFWP was founded by world renowned, South African ichthyologist Dr Phil C Heemstra, Curator Emeritus at SAIAB. It is an exciting biodiversity initiative of scuba divers, anglers and scientists working together to learn more about fishes.
The Project comprises three complementary and synergistic components:
1) SCUBA diver participation and education: Scuba divers are trained through our Fish-Watch Dives, an open ocean training session in fish identification, or by self-learning from our Worksheets, a waterproof underwater identification worksheet and text; they use this knowledge on their subsequent dives gathering lots of fish information from different parts of South Africa. 2) Survey of marine fish diversity & 3) Creation of an East Coast FishBase: Scientists use the data for research on fish communities, species distribution, migration and ecology, and this knowledge is essential to conservation and management of our fish diversity.
The Project has reached the South African non-diving community as well as divers from other African countries. Every time divers and other amateur ichthyologists photograph fishes, record and catalogue data about the fish sighting (e.g. size, behaviour, depth, habitat and locality), and send these data and photographs to the East Coast Fish-Watch Project, they are contributing to the knowledge of our fish fauna. By their participation in the project, these amateur ichthyologists are improving their observational skills and learning more about fishes.
 WOW! PHOTO |
This 70 mm rare pelagic stage of the yellow-spotted burrfish, Cyclichthys spilostylus (Leis & Randall 1982) is festooned with a fleshy tentacle from each dermal spine. With growth, the tentacles shrink, and in the benthic adult (> 17 cm) the tentacle has been reduced to a minute cirrus at the base of the spines. Burrfish and porcupinefish (Family Diodontidae) can inflate their body by swallowing water (or air) which makes them much larger, and they then resemble a spikey ball, similar to porcupine with erect quills. This blow-up technique will deter all but the largest predators.This beautiful little fish was found washed up on the beach at Port Alfred by H.C. Pittaway and brought fresh and intact to our Institute in Grahamstown. Dr John E. Randall has provided excellent photos of the adults. |
 CITIZEN SCIENCE! |
Dr Scotty Kyle from Kosi Bay sent in a photograph of a kingfish that his son Ewan caught, tagged and released near Bhanga Nek. The photograph was sent to Bill Smith-Vaniz, the kingfish expert who identified it as the island kingfish Carangoides orthogrammus. In the western Indian Ocean (WIO) this species was known from Aldabra, Seychelles, Chagos, and from Kenya south to central Mozambique. |
Divers, anglers, aquarists or anyone with an interest in marine fish can learn more about fishes and join the project by emailing fishwatch or visiting the Fish-Watch website.