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Outright ban on catching Steenbras?
The government is planning to ban fisherman from catching Steenbras in an effort to protect the threatened species that once was plentiful in the coastal waters of South Africa.
This species, known as the "red rhino of the sea" is deeply threatened and as a result the government has gazetted regulations for an indefinite moratorium on all recreational and commercial fishing of the species.
Bruce Mann, a senior scientist at the Oceanographic Research Institute in Durban says that the commercial catch rates of the species have dropped by 90% over the last 27 years. It has been defined as a "collapsed population" by government management protocols.
The red streenbras is the largest species of sea bream in the world and is endemic to South Africa. It can grow up to about 150 centimetres and weight more than 50 kilograms and used to be a very popular catch for ski-boat fishermen. It is found mainly between Cape Point and St Lucia on the southern coast.
It is an aggressive reef predator and lives for up to 33 years but only reaches maturity at about seven or eight years. Much of their early lives are spent on deep reefs, with strong currents that can make them difficult to catch.
Read the full article on www.iol.co.za.
