What Anglers Catch

Perhaps the most commonly cited 'global recreational catch' figures in the academic world, SA's included, are those by Steven J. Cooke and Ian G. Cowx from a 2004 paper titled "The Role of Recreational Fishing in Global Fish Crises". Marine and freshwater combined, per Annum: 47 Billion fish. The 36 % kept amounts to 11 Million metric Tons. Allegedly 12 % of the total global catch… Having already questioned the total global catch in my post "Fake News Fisheries" I decided to download the "Cooke and Cowx 2004" document and I quote:

"Assuming a global human population of 6.33 billion, similar extrapolations of Canadian recreational capture rates would suggest that 47.10 billion fish are landed on a global basis annually, of which 36.3 percent (17.09 billion fish) are harvested, weighing 10.86 million metric tons (assuming a mass of 0.635 kilograms per fish; US Department of Commerce 2003)."

A nonsensical extrapolation made by two respected scientists who acknowledged that "Furthermore, anglers exhibit complex behavior…" With 200 000 Km of coastline and 10 % of the world's freshwater reserves for its 35 Million population Canada has an exceptionally low density of conservation conscious anglers. Therefore it has the grade of fishing now that some countries never had and others had decades ago. Even with a  lower release ratio I would assume the global recreational take to be no more than half. Perhaps 5 Million Tons. Against an inclusive (of IUU and Anchovy) commercial haul of 120!

Sunset fishing at Lovers Lane, Gordons Bay. (Photo credits Gillian GB)

Here in South Africa the last national survey of the marine recreational fishery (by S. L. Brouwer, B. Q. Mann et al.) titled "A survey of the South African shore-angling fishery" was published 1997 in the South African Journal of Marine Science. Its findings led to the introduction of our national marine recreational permit system in 1998. All relevant studies since appear to have been confined to regions and/or competition angling records. According to the document: "The total effort for the South African shore fishery (excluding Transkei and Ciskei) was estimated at 3.2 million angler days'year". Cpue (catch per unit effort) ranged from 0,45 Kg (KZN) to 1,55 Kg (S.Cape) per angler day - see table below. "Total catch for the South African shore-angling fishery was estimated at 4.519.914 fish'year, or nearly 3 million kg·year". Further findings were  that "A large percentage of anglers admitted to disobeying linefish regulations (32%), except with regard to marine reserves (9%)" and that "Released fish were not included, because of the unreliability of angler reports, which can vary between 56 and 152% of the true catch".

Screen-shot, 'A survey of the SA shore-angling fishery', 'cpue'

In 2009/2010 a very thorough KZN survey was conducted by Stuart Dunlop of the ORI with cpue figures of 0,32 Kg or 0,82 fish per angler day (calculated to be 4,6 hours) - a 30 % decline in relation to the ('94 - '96) stats published in 1997. Total shore based catch was estimated to be 250 - 275 Tons p/a. The Dunlop survey also included boat angling data which showed - compared with the shore based results - a 15 fold increase in Kg per angler effort for recreational boat anglers and a 75 fold increase for commercial crews. Total boat based catch was estimated at 450 T for the recreationals, 250 T for charter boats plus approx. 800 Tons p/a for the commercial (ski) boats. There is little boat based - the 2015 Dickens study being limited to SADSAA records - or more recent shore based catch data available on the Cape coast which has likely seen a greater drop in catch per shore angler effort than Natal. And there you have it folks, while our catch statistics are patchy to say the least we don't have to rely on extrapolations of Canadian results.

Thoughts on Live Bait

Live bait is still regularly used by many anglers and at times with excellent results. It is not always the easiest bait to obtain, especially when there are game fish around, and it can also have a distinct 'mind of its own' as to how and where it wants to swim.

Harders (aka Mullet) make superb bait - Dead or Alive!

But, friends and fishermen, the simple reason a hooked 'livie' does not squeal like a 'stuck pig' isn't due to any sensory deficiency but the inability to vocalize its discontent. Back in the water with ample awareness of its predicament and indeed a mind of its own its first reaction is flight - but when the predators of the blue appear the survival tricks come out. Many live bait anglers have had those touching moments when a bait decided 'not today' and some of us have used these to reflect...

Our age old hunting ethics are not confined solely to conserving a 'resource' but are in fact centered around the concept of a 'clean kill'. The respect shown to mammals and birds in that regard is rarely extended to fish and certainly not to any live fish swum as bait. Sport angling starts with choosing rod and reel as a tool as much as a constraint and we may challenge ourselves further by fishing light lines, lures or flies. Saying No to live bait is so easy. Please reconsider your tactics and don't lower your ethics but raise your angling skill - there are always alternatives to live bait.

Offshore Classic 2017

Our local Gordons Bay Boat Angling Club's "Classic" is one of the major annual entries in the Southern African offshore angling calendar. Over the years it has drawn big name anglers and delivered record catches. This year's (29 April to 6 May) event, officially known as the "2017 Furuno Offshore Classic", was an occasion of note. With 154 anglers and a total prize pool of over 550.000 Rands - including a 'boat auction' which alone brought in R180.500 - pressure was on to produce. The weather forecast looked good and expectations were raised further when a 110+ Kg Tuna was caught the day before. And indeed the weather held and anglers produced...

Living the Good Life (photo via GBBAC)

"Top Gamefish" was a 132 Kg Bigeye Tuna caught by Jan-Hendrik Delport off the boat Artemis. The fish was first identified as a Southern Bluefin as is evident by the chalk board entry in the photo below. Second placed fish was a 123,5 Kg Bigeye caught by C. Freiss off the vessel Sea Mone. Places 3 and 4 were taken with yet more Bigeyes of 98,8 Kg and 88,7 Kg respectively. The Biggest Yellowfin this year, placed 5th overall, was landed by P. Groenewalt aboard Kokomo and took the scales to 84,6 Kg. The "Biggest Longfin" prize went to S. van Schoor with a 29 Kg fish caught off Magnuficent. Four other Longies of around 20 Kg were weighed in with the remainder from 13 Kg down. Top boats were Sea Mone followed by Kokomo, Artemis, Magnuficent and Blue Diamond. Main sponsors were Furuno, Carry Cat Marine and South Sea Suzuki.

Jan-Hendrik and his winning fish (photo via GBBAC)

Originally known as the "Broadbill Classic", the inaugural event was held in 1992 and won by local angling legend Mike Casserley with a 176,3 Kg Broadbill Swordfish caught off the boat Amberjack. The fish set a new South African 60 Kg line class record - one of "8 or 9" SA records in addition to two IGFA world records Mike has held during his illustrious angling career - which still stands today. With Erwin Bursik of Ski Boat Magazine fame among the competitors news spread fast and the event quickly became known as one of SA's premier offshore angling competitions. Two years later, in an event which included well known Protea offshore angler Nick de Kock and oceanographer Rudy Van der Elst among the entrants, Gavin Manthe was able to boat a 149,5 Kg Bigeye Tuna. Another SA record, in the 60 Kg line as well as All Tackle class, which still stands to this day and which is just 28 Kg shy of the current world Bigeye record.

Boats heading back to port to weigh in (photo via GBBAC)

In their infinite wisdom our government then (mid-nineties) decided to issue a number of "experimental" Swordfish long-line licenses. It took the long-liners approximately three years to totally decimate the resident Swordfish population with Tuna stocks, especially Bigeye and Southern Bluefin, also on the decline during that time. Mike tells me that the last Swordfish he encountered was one which he tagged in 1996. Thus the competition was eventually renamed "Offshore Classic" and has for most of the past few years been won with 80 - 90 Kg class Yellowfin Tuna. The size of the winning fish has been on a recent upward trend however, edging ever closer to that elusive 100 Kg mark which was eventually surpassed last year with a 105 Kg Yellowfin… And while our Swordfish are 'gone' it's good to see large Bigeye Tuna back in the prizes in 2017.

Spectators eager to see the catch (photo via GBBAC)

Many thanks to Mike Casserley, Leonie Penninkhof from Gordon's Bay Fishing Charters and all my friends at GBBAC for the information and well done to the anglers and organizers involved.

Fake News Fisheries

Ancient wisdom encourages us to 'believe without believing'. And just what does that mean? Well, in the recreational fishing scene that means if someone tells me they just caught a 20 Kg Kabeljou from the local harbor wall then I'll believe that, eh, is what I heard them say... My experience with the more serious rock & surf – and boat – anglers has been that most are actually quite straight talkers. The 'week-enders' are more often the ones with tales. As for the state of the fishery most recreationals will readily acknowledge over-fished and dwindling stocks.

Recreational lure angler with Yellowtail at the famous Rooikrans ledges

The commercial sector, from fishermen to retailers and restaurateurs, appears to function on a different dynamic. The poor state of our stocks is downplayed, the quotas keep coming and the tills keep ringing. A catch statistics search brought up the website of 'aldi nord.de', a major northern hemisphere retail chain. They trade in markets with a higher level of ecological awareness and are apparently one of the better rated retailers in terms of fish and seafood buying ethics. Their 'social responsibilities' page claims, with reference to the SOFIA July 2016 report (released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN), an annual global wild harvest of 'fish and seafood' of 93.4 Million Tons and a global aquaculture production of 73.6 Million Tons with 31.4 % of Worldwide fish stocks being over-fished. Feel good figures that shouldn't put anybody off a piece of wild caught Hake.

Small longliner pulling Hake in the deep off Cape Point

A closer look at the marine fishery which is what most of us are, after all, concerned about is less appetizing. According to the below table, from the same SOFIA report, the annual marine capture harvest amounts to 81.5 Million Tons which excludes Peruvian Anchovy of 5-10 M Tons as well as the entire IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishery. Australian research puts the inclusive global marine capture harvest at over 120 Million Tons per annum.

Screen-shot, SOFIA 2016 report

As far as the 26.7 M Tons of marine aquaculture are concerned one should firstly question whether this includes IUU-type content with wild caught or freshwater farmed 'seafood' (eg. Tiger Prawn or Tilapia processed into 'Crab Sticks') tabled as products of marine aquaculture. Secondly one should question what is farmed and what is merely fattened as is common in the Tuna fishery. Then one should consider that much of what is (fish) farmed or fattened is fed with wild caught fish, often at poor conversion ratios. The Bluefin Tuna fattening off Baja is, for example, at around 17:1 with 17 Kg of sardines fed to gain 1 Kg of Bluefin mass.

Screen-shot, SOFIA 2016 report

With a heavily revised marine wild capture to aquaculture ratio (a small portion of this actually being - partially wild fed - fish) let us look at the state of our wild fish stocks as depicted in the graph above… The 31.4% of 'over-fished' stocks of course include many of our prized eating fish like Bluefin Tuna depicted in the graph below. The 10% or so 'under-fished' stocks would include undesirable species and unfishable regions of the ocean - under polar ice or at great depth. This leaves the 'fully fished' stocks with commercial quotas issued to the maximum of 'sustainability' and with an IUU catch still on top.

Screen-shot, Asia-Pacific Journal, Pacific Bluefin Tuna

So, all you ecologically aware seafood lovers out there, please take that feel good poster at your eco-friendly grocer or sustainable sushi bar with a pinch of salt. Choose 'fully fished' over 'over-fished' and can 'farmed' if it's fed on wild caught fish.

Adults Only at Vogelsteen

Along the R44 coastal road just outside Gordons Bay in the direction of Rooi Els is Vogelsteen (Bird Rock in English), a moderately well known fishing and diving spot named after the rocky outcrop frequented by seagulls, terns and gannets. I might add that among Afrikaans speakers the 'bird' part also has a sexual connotation attached. Although I rarely fished there the spot was and still is a favorite of mine for enjoying a bit of afternoon sun or a sunset over False Bay.

Approach to Vogelsteen

On one particularly memorable outing some years ago I had taken Hägar the biker dog along. He was quite a legend in this town, a white staffie by then well into double figures and partly blind and deaf. Despite his age he still enjoyed a bike ride along the coast. Upon our arrival I saw that a small car and a scrambler bike stood at the nearest roadside parking, unusual for a mid week afternoon. I thought it wise to have a look who else was around before letting Hägar roam but saw no-one here nor there… until I stood atop of the northernmost outcrop and looked down upon the ledges below. There sat a dark haired, middle aged fisherman in full Western Province rock & surf club kit. I knew him from somewhere, probably the tackle shop, but not by name and WHAT? Between his legs was the blond head that belonged to the kid kneeling down in front of him! Just at that point the club fisherman looked up at me and the kid jumped up. Well I'd seen enough and took a southerly direction to find a spot to sit, obviously carrying a monstrous smile. A little later I noticed the blond kid sneak through the bushes back to his bike. Then the club guy, who had walked along the bottom ledges, approached me from the front and muttered something vaguely threatening about being better off keeping my mouth shut. "Ja, see no evil and importantly speak no evil Ha Ha" I replied, still unable to wipe the smile off my dial.

Some say Gordons Bay is a small drinking town with a fishing problem and after years of being professionally involved in the fishing scene (and some social drinking too) I knew almost everyone and everyone knew me. As such I was probably the last person any fisherman would want to get busted by while having his helmet buffed. I pondered the implications on someone's reputation and decided that while I would not get drawn into attempts to identify the people involved the story was too good not to tell. Later that afternoon I popped in at fellow custom rod builder Francois' and in his workshop was Greg from GB tackle. "You oakes won't believe what I've just seen…". The following day I was getting phone calls from Betty's all the way through to Table Bay requesting details with the inevitable "but come on and tell us who it was". Occasionally I still get asked the same. Friends and fishermen, I really never knew the guy's name and in all the years since never saw him again.