White-edged rockcod

1. What is it?

White-edged rockcod (Epinephelus albomarginatus) is a subtropical species endemic to Southeast Africa and occurs on rocky reefs from 30-120 m. They are slow growing, endemic fish able to change sex from female to male making them susceptible to overfishing. Stock levels are rated as overexploited.

2. How was it caught or farmed?

White-edged rockcod are caught using the traditional linefishing methods of rod and reel or handlines operating from small ski-and deckboats. Linefishing is a relatively selective fishing method with few impacts on the marine environment and little accidental bycatch.

White-edged rockcod are also caught in Mozambique using uses traditional rod-and-reel methods and handlines to catch a variety of reef and bottom associated species. . The fishery is likely to cause significant damage to some listed, overfished or highly vulnerable species, specifically, demersal reef species that are overexploited or overfished. The fishery has few discards and there are very few “non-target” species landed in the sector.

3. Where is it from?

White-edged rockcod are found in rocky reefs along the Eastern Cape to Mozambique. . Management for the sector is considered partly effective. In South Africa this sector is principally managed through a total allowable effort (TAE) limitation and there are additional restrictions to protect overfished species such as bag (5pp/pd) and minimum size (40cm) limits for recreational fishers. There is some concern over the impact of the small-scale fishery rights allocation beyond the recommended TAE and the continuously growing recreational sector.

A management plan was developed in 2013 that includes all linefishing sectors. Management for the industrial and semi-industrial sectors (commercial fishery) is considered to be partly effective. The sector is principally managed by total allowable effort (TAE), although these targets have been exceeded significantly. Additional measures to reduce growth-overfishing and to minimise the impact of harvesting immature fish are size limitations and gear restriction. Management of the artisanal sector is virtually non-existent and of substantial conservation concern. The recreational fishery is regulated by a bag limit.