Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Bruce Mann Colin Buxton David Pollard Kent Carpenter
Facilitators: Claire Gorman
Reviewers: Mia Comeros-Raynal

Rationale

The hottentot (Pachymetopon blochii) is an important component of inshore commercial boat fisher's catches in the Western and Southwestern Cape and is also caught by recreational anglers. This species is also taken as by-catch in the inshore gill-net fishery in the Western Cape and is occasionally taken by spear fishers. Despite reported reductions in commercial catch it is considered to be optimally exploited. There are fishing regulations in place for this species and it is also afforded some protection from marine protected areas throughout its range. It is therefore listed as Least Concern. Recent allocation of communal fishing rights on the Western Cape coast need to be carefully monitored.

Distribution

Pachymetopon blochii is endemic to southern Africa and is known from southern Angola to the Port Alfred (Heemstra and Heemstra 2004), but vagrants have been recorded as far east as Tsitsikamma (C. Buxton pers. comm. 2009). This species is most abundant between Port Nolloth and Cape Agulhas (van der Elst 1993; Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries unpublished data). Pachymetopon blochii occurs to 55 m depth (Heemstra and Heemstra 2004).

Population trend

Trend

Pachymetopon blochii was considered under-exploited from the mid-1980s and 1990s (Pulfrich and Griffiths 1988c, Punt et al. 1996) but is now considered to be optimally exploited with biomass from 2010 estimated to be at 55% of carrying capacity for the Western Cape (Winker et al. 2012). Catch rates of this species dropped during the 20th century to 22–38% of historical levels (Griffiths 2000). Total commercial landings decreased from about 1,000 tonnes to a minimum of less than 100 tonnes in 2006; however, an increase in CPUE has been observed in recent years as well as a slight increase in landings with just over 200 tonnes reported in 2010 (National Marine Linefish System unpublished data, Winker et al. 2012). 


Threats

Pachymetopon blochii is an important fish to shore anglers, commercial and recreational boat fishers especially along the Western Cape coast. Although estimated to be under-exploited in 1985 (Pulfrich and Griffiths 1988c, Punt et al. 1996) it is likely to be subject to increased fishing pressure as a consequence of the issuing of community access rights to subsistence/artisanal fishers.

Uses and trade

Pachymetopon blochii is an important component of the artisanal linefishery, recreational shore fishery and the recreational ski-boat fishery in the Western Cape (Brouwer et al. 1997, Pulfrich and Griffiths 1988c) and is occasionally caught by spear-fisherman (Mann et al. 1997). The importance of this species to the artisanal fishery increases with the unavailability of more valuable species such as snoek and yellowtail (Kerwath and Winker 2013). Pachymetopon blochii is captured as bycatch in the gill-net fishery on the Western Coast (S. Lamberth; Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries pers. comm.). 

Pachymetopon blochii  is one of the most common reef fish species landed by linefishers in the Southwestern Cape and along the West Coast (Winker et al. 2012).

Conservation

There is a daily bag limit for P. blochii of ten fish per person per day for recreational and subsistence fishers and a minimum size limit of 22 cm TL in South Africa while commercial fishing of this species is unlimited (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2012). The distribution of P. blochii overlaps with a number of near-shore marine protected areas (World Database of Protected Areas, accessed March 2014) such as West Coast National park, Table Mountain National Park, Betty's Bay and De Hoop.

References 

[@techreport{2060,
 address = {Durban},
 author = {Mann, B.Q.},
 institution = {Southern African Association for Marine Biological Research Oceanographic Research Institute},
 title = {Southern African Marine Linefish Species Profiles},
 year = {2013}
}
,@book{12137,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {van der Elst, R.},
 publisher = {Struik Publishers},
 title = {A guide to the common sea fishes of Southern Africa (2nd edition)},
 year = {1988}
}
,@techreport{12137,
 author = {Mann, B.Q., Beckley, L.E. and R.P. van der Elst},
 institution = {Oceanographic Research Institute Unpublished Report 134},
 title = {Evaluation of linefishery participation and management along the KwaZulu-Natal coast},
 year = {1997}
}
,@article{12137,
 author = {Griffiths, M.H.},
 journal = {South African Journal of Marine Science},
 pages = {81--110},
 title = {Long-term trends in catch and effort of commercial linefish off South Africa’s Cape Province: snapshots of the 20th century},
 volume = {22},
 year = {2000}
}
,@electronic{12137,
 address = {http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf},
 author = {IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee},
 title = {Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 10},
 year = {2013}
}
,@techreport{12137,
 address = {Staatskoerant},
 author = {Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
 title = {Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) and relevant government gazettes and notices},
 year = {2012}
}
,@book{170160,
 address = {Grahamstown, South Africa},
 author = {Heemstra, P.C. and Heemstra, E.},
 publisher = {South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and National Inquiry Service Centre},
 title = {Coastal Fishes of southern Africa},
 year = {2004}
}
,@electronic{170160,
 address = {www.wdpa.org },
 author = {IUCN and UNEP},
 publisher = {UNEP-WCMC/ IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)},
 title = {The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)},
 year = {2014}
}
,@book{170169,
 address = {Cape Town, South Africa},
 author = {van der Elst, R},
 publisher = {Struik Publishers},
 title = {A guide to the common sea fishes of southern Africa},
 year = {1993}
}
,@article{170169,
 author = {Brouwer, S.L, Mann, B.Q., Lamberth, S.J., Sauer, W.H.H. and Erasmus, C.},
 journal = {South African Journal of Marine Science},
 pages = {165--177},
 title = {A survey of the South African shore-angling fishery},
 volume = {18},
 year = {1997}
}
,@techreport{170170,
 author = {SAUFF},
 title = {South African Underwater Fishing Federation},
 year = {2012}
}
,@proceedings{170210,
 address = {Arniston, Western Cape},
 editor = {Griffiths, M.H.},
 publisher = {SANCOR},
 series = {Proceedings of the Third Southern African Marine Linefish Symposium. Occ. Rep. Ser.},
 title = {Development of the Cape commercial linefishery through the 20th Century: evidence for over-exploitation},
 year = {1999}
}
,@phdthesis{170210,
 author = {Pulfrich, A.},
 school = {M.Sc. thesis, University of Cape Town},
 title = {Aspects of the biology of, and fishery for, the Hottentot, Pachymetopon blochii (Val.) (Sparidae), in the western and south-western Cape},
 year = {1987}
}
,@article{170210,
 author = {Pulfrich, A., and Griffiths, C.L.},
 journal = {South African Journal of Marine Science},
 pages = {25--36},
 title = {Growth, sexual maturity and reproduction in the hottentot <i>Pachymetopon blochii</i> (Val.)},
 volume = {7},
 year = {1988}
}
,@article{170210,
 author = {Pulfrich, A., and Griffiths, C.L.},
 journal = {South African Journal of Marine Science},
 pages = {227--241},
 title = {The fishery for hottentot <i>Pachymetopon blochii</i> Val. in the South-Western Cape},
 volume = {7},
 year = {1988}
}
,@article{170210,
 author = {Pulfrich, A., and Griffiths, C.L.},
 journal = {S. Afr. J. Zool.},
 number = {3},
 pages = {196--207},
 title = {Feeding biology of the hottentot, <i>Pachymetopon blochii</i> (Val.), with an estimate of daily ration},
 volume = {23},
 year = {1988}
}
,@article{170210,
 author = {Punt, A.E., Pulfrich, A., Butterworth, D.S., and Penney, A.J.},
 journal = {South Afr. J. Mar. Sci.},
 pages = {155--172},
 title = {The effect of hook size on the size-specific selectivity of hottentot Pachymetopon blochii (Val.) and on yield per recruit},
 volume = {17},
 year = {1996}
}
,@techreport{170210,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {Winker, H., Kerwath, S.E., and Attwood, C.G.},
 title = {Report on stock assessments of important South African linefish resources},
 year = {2012}
}
,@phdthesis{170210,
 author = {Goodman},
 school = {University of Bergen},
 title = {Population dynamics and stock status of the South African hottentot, <i>Pachymetopon blochii</i> (Val.)},
 year = {2001}
}
,]
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