A survey of the recreational rock angling fishery at Port Elizabeth, on the east coast of South Africa

A recreational rock-angling fishery on South Africa's Eastern Cape coast was studied on the basis of random sampling which aimed at removing the sample bias usually associated with such studies. The fishery is primarily recreational and catch per unit effort is low (202,J g·angler-hour -1). A total of 27 teleosts was recorded, the most important of which were Pomatomus saltatrix (74,7 g. h-1). Sparodon durbanensis (30,3 g. h-1), Diplodus sargus capensis (19,4 g. h-1) and Pachymetopon grande (12,6 g. h-l). Seven cartilaginous species were caught, of which MUSlelus mustelus (I6,6 g. h-1) was the most important. Sharks were either discarded or returned to the sea. Catches of most species were seasonal, a result of both availability of fish and targeting of angler effort. Despite considerable overlap in the catch between this and the commercial sector of the linefishery, a number of species may be considered primarily recreational. Management of such species is discussed and the importance of long-term data series to the management of the resource is recognized.