Harders

Harders (Chelon richardsonii)- FAO 47 - Beach Seine & Gillnet - Met criteria for a red listing and WWF together with DFFE and The Veldriff fishing community are currently working towards developing and implementing an improvement process for this fishery.

1. What is it?

Harders, the South African mullet Chelon richardsonii (previously Liza) is a coastal, bottom dwelling fish found off rocky points and sandy beaches. Adults occasionally enter estuaries which serve as nursery areas. Earlier estimates of abundance suggest that they are over fished in areas with high fishing effort. The first stock assessment of the harder was conducted in 2019 using updated data on the species’ life-history parameters collected from 1998-2017 in Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon. This stock is currently being fished at unsustainable levels, displaying symptoms of overfishing and decreasing the resilience of the stock to fishing pressure. Annual landings of harders in all other netfishery areas west of Cape Point have dropped to < 30% of historical levels.

2. How was it caught or farmed?

Beach Seine

Harders are the main target species of the inshore net fishery on the West coast of South Africa. Beach seine are long nets that are dragged along the sandy ocean floor. Beach seine permit holders can land almost 2000 t of harders and an excess of 200 t of bycatch, including predominantly linefish. Bycatch can consist of a large portion of the catch and may contain vulnerable species.

Gill Nets

South African mullets are also caught in the gillnet fishery. Gill nets consist of a wall of netting suspended in the water column. The mesh sizes of the gill nets are designed to only allow the fishes head through the net and catches in their gills when the fish tries to back out. This method is not selective resulting in high levels of bycatch that may contain endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) or highly vulnerable species, including interactions with seabirds, seals, and sharks.

3. Where is it from?

Beach Seine

South African mullet are caught all along the coast of South Africa. There are 28 beach-seine and right holders operating on the West Coast from Port Nolloth to False Bay. Saldanha Bay and Langebaan Lagoon are located in the middle of the species’ distribution, providing essential nursery grounds and refugia for both juveniles and adults. The management of the beach seine fishery is largely ineffective. Total allowed effort (TAE) has been exceeded by a substantial margin since 2012 regardless of scientific recommendations. Subsequently, challenges in accurate recording and declaration of catches results in at least half of the annual bycatches not being reported.

There are 162 gillnet right holders operating on the West Coast from Port Nolloth to False Bay. The gill net fishery is currently managed under a combination of gear restrictions, total allowable effort (TAE) and closed areas and this netfishery reports a total catch of approximately 1 500 tonnes (t) per annum, of which at least half is Harders. Management is through a Total Allowable Effort (TAE) limit with a set number of operators in a net fishing area. Increased illegal fishing is a major issue for management exacerbating the chances of recovery. In addition, management of threatened species accidentally caught is minimal due to poor implementation and a lack of compliance by fishers.