Duties: Fieldwork and data capture
Supporters: Marine and Coastal Management; South African Environmental Observation Network
The Agulhas Bank represents the centre of the South African fishing grounds and the bulk of reef-associated species, many of which are severely overexploited, are caught here. To date, research activity has focused on the inshore rocky reefs and the trawl grounds on the bank. Rocky reefs further offshore have long become uneconomical to exploit and information on these un-trawlable areas is therefore scarce and anecdotal. These reefs consist of relatively shallow (20 – 70 meters) rocky banks and pinnacles between 20 and 150 km offshore, whose remoteness qualifies them to serve as potential spawning grounds and as a natural refuge for many fish and invertebrate species that are elsewhere on the verge of extinction.
Biannual 15-day cruises on the research ship Ellen Khuzwayo present the first opportunity to sample these offshore banks systematically. Headed by Dr Sven Kerwath and Chris Wilke from the linefish section of Marine and Coastal Management a multidisciplinary group of eight scientists are tasked to develop and test methods suitable for monitoring fish and invertebrates. Amongst these methods, diving surveys (where possible), linefishing, fishtraps and longlines proved to be particularly useful and new insights on distribution and biology of important marine resources are gained.
