A quantitative assessment of recreational angling in Durban Harbour, South Africa

Abstract

Durban Harbour is one of the busiest in Africa, its estuarine waters also being a popular angling venue for city-dwellers who pursue their sport from light-tackle boats or from the shores around the 21-km harbour perimeter. Light-tackle boat competition data and shore-angling data from the South African National Marine Linefish System for the years 1976–1991 were used to analyse angler catch rates and catch per species for the Harbour. A total of 85 species of both marine and estuarine-associated ichthyofauna was caught. The Harbour is used as a nursery area by juvenile fish and as a feeding ground and refuge by adult fish. The catch composition varied inter-annually, but it was dominated by the Haemulidae, particularly Pomadasys commersonnii, and the Mugilidae. The majority of fish caught by light-tackle boat anglers were above the minimum legal size, but fell within small size-classes. The catch rate declined over the 16 years, probably attributable to a combination of loss of habitat, flooding in 1987,...