Fish The Sea - Angling, Marine & Fish Research In The Eastern Cape
This research project will cover about 60 kilometers of the Eastern Cape coast, divided into sections; from the Kenton side of the Bushman's River Mouth to the Kleinemonde side of the Fish River Mouth, (Go back to read more). The area that will be covered can be seen below. Image courtesy of Google Earth.
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Research will not only be conducted in the surf areas of the 60 kilometer stretch but also in 3 of the river and estuary systems in between, namely: The Bushman's River, The Kariega River, and Kasouga River. The Kowie River, Riet River and Kleinemonde Rivers East & West will not be used in the research, unless specified. Information will be obtained and stored from all areas to make up the most comprehensive report possible. Statistics such as depth, structure, salinity, pollution and other important bits of information will be recorded from these areas. Please view the map above of the boundaries of the 3 areas where research will be done in the surf.
In the surf zones, and locations off the rocks, these will be my main objectives:
- Doing a comprehensive study of all fish species in the area, as a lot of current information contradicts what I have found (In some cases).
- Tagging fish. Which will hopefully lead to re-capture.
- New species distributions.
- Fish sizes and growth.
- Habitat and depth selection and depth occurrence.
- Will be recording general weather, bait and food items, biometric pressure, water temperatures and sea conditions.
- Photographing and measuring all species.
- Juvenile colouration and patterns.
- New sub-species of fish I am confident I can find.
- Finding out how fishing has impacted these areas.
- Targeting very rare fish, that could possibly occur in the area.
All in all, I am doing this for the love of angling and the area. And the outcomes I want from this project is to create awareness about fish conservation, their status in the areas and how we are affecting this particular environment with our angling habits. All recordings from 2012 forwards will be measured via the same means, thus being able to calculate 100% accurate information.
Overall this research and data capture will be both scientific and easy to understand. There is no end date for this project. Please contact me if you would like any more information.
