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Sardine Run
The KwaZulu-Natal sardine run of southern Africa occurs from May through July when billions of sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard ''Sardinops sagax'' – spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northward along the east coast of South Africa. Their sheer numbers create a feeding frenzy along the coastline. The run, containing millions of individual sardines, occurs when a current of cold water heads north from the Agulhas Bank up to Mozambique where it then leaves the coastline and goes further east into the Fisherman are sometimes observed singing songs while hauling in the fishing nets in typical South African style. It is estimated that the sardine run is the biggest Biomass migration in terms of numbers. In terms of biomass, researchers estimate the sardine run could rival East Africa's great wildebeest migration. However, little is known of the phenomenon. It is believed that the water temperature has to drop below 21 °C in or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agulhas Chla
Agulhas (''needles'' in the Portuguese language — or ) may refer to: * Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa * L'Agulhas, a town near the Cape * Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, located at the Cape * Cape Agulhas Local Municipality, the municipality governing the area around Bredasdorp, including the Cape * Agulhas National Park, a national park protecting areas around Cape Agulhas * The Agulhas Bank, an area of ocean south of the Cape * The Agulhas Current, an ocean current off the east coast of South Africa * South African research ships: : **''S. A. Agulhas'' **''S. A. Agulhas II'' {{disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bryde's Whale
Bryde's whale ( ), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and possibly four. The "complex" means the number and classification remain unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. The common Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera brydei'', Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and the Sittang or Eden's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni'', Anderson, 1879) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the Indo-Pacific. Also, a smaller, coastal form of ''B. brydei'' is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale. The recently described Omura's whale (''B. omurai'', Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. Rice's whale (''B. ricei''), which makes its home solely in the Gulf of Mexico, was once consider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Cormorant
The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (''Phalacrocorax capensis'') is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa. It breeds from the coastal area of Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ... to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, also extending its home up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique. In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone. However, the IUCN now classifies it as "Endangered" due to a very rapid decline in the population over the last three generations. The Cape cormorant is an almost entirely glossy black bird, though in breeding condition it has a purplish tinge and a few white plumes on the head, neck, and cloacal a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Penguin
The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. It is the only penguin found in the Old World. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of and are tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is now the rarest species of penguin classified as critically endangered, with its population declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-foo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overfishing
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resulting in the species becoming increasingly underpopulated in that area. Overfishing can occur in water bodies of any sizes, such as ponds, wetlands, rivers, lakes or oceans, and can result in resource depletion, reduced biological growth rates and low biomass (ecology), biomass levels. Sustained overfishing can lead to critical depensation, where the fish population is no longer able to sustain itself. Some forms of overfishing, such as the Threatened sharks, overfishing of sharks, has led to the upset of entire marine ecosystems. Types of overfishing include growth overfishing, recruitment overfishing, and ecosystem overfishing. Overfishing not only causes negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but also reduces fish pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seine Net
Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be deployed from the shore as a beach seine, or from a boat. Boats deploying seine nets are known as seiners. Two main types of seine net are deployed from seiners: ''purse seines'' and ''Danish seines''. A seine differs from a gillnet, in that a seine encloses fish, where a gillnet directly snares fish. Etymology The word ''seine'' has its origins in the Old English ''segne'', which entered the language via Latin ''sagena'', from the original Greek σαγήνη ''sagēnē'' (a drag-net). History Seines have been used widely in the past, including by Stone Age societies. For example, the Māori used large canoes to deploy seine nets which could be over a kilometer long. The nets were woven from green flax, with stone weights and light wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board
A notice at a beach protected by the Board The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB), previously the Natal Sharks Board and Natal Anti-Shark Measures Board is an organisation that maintains a "shark control" program (using shark nets and drum lines) off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, at 37 places. The purpose of the nets and drum lines is to reduce the number of shark attacks. It was founded as a statutory body in 1962, when the city of Durban's netting operations were extended to other parts of the coast in the then Natal Province. It is headquartered in uMhlanga, north of Durban. The KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board displays sharks that they have killed as part of shows.https://www.places.co.za/html/sharksboard.html SA Places. Natal Sharks Board. Retrieved December 2, 2018. The "shark control" program that the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB) operates has been called a shark cull. In a 30-year period, more than 33,000 sharks have been killed in the KZNSB's sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sardines Amanzimtoti 17-06-07 1056
Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes from the Italian island of Sardinia, around which sardines were once supposedly abundant. The terms "sardine" and "pilchard" are not precise, and what is meant depends on the region. The United Kingdom's Sea Fish Industry Authority, for example, classifies sardines as young pilchards. One criterion suggests fish shorter in length than are sardines, and larger fish are pilchards. The FAO/WHO Codex standard for canned sardines cites 21 species that may be classed as sardines. FishBase, a database of information about fish, calls at least six species pilchards, over a dozen just sardines, and many more with the two basic names qualified by various adjectives. Etymology The word ''sardine'' first appeared in English in the 15th century, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalacrocorax Capensis
The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (''Phalacrocorax capensis'') is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa. It breeds from the coastal area of Namibia to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, also extending its home up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique. In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone. However, the IUCN now classifies it as "Endangered" due to a very rapid decline in the population over the last three generations. The Cape cormorant is an almost entirely glossy black bird, though in breeding condition it has a purplish tinge and a few white plumes on the head, neck, and cloacal areas. Its gular skin is a deep orangey yellow; unusually for a cormorant, its lores are feathered. The bird's wing is about 240–280 mm in extent, and it weighs 800–1600 grams, with little sexual dimorphism. Cape shags commonly forage i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spheniscus Demersus
The African penguin (''Spheniscus demersus''), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. It is the only penguin found in the Old World. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of and are tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is now the rarest species of penguin classified as critically endangered, with its population declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-foo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaenoptera Edeni
Bryde's whale ( ), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and possibly four. The "complex" means the number and classification remain unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. The common Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera brydei'', Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and the Sittang or Eden's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni'', Anderson, 1879) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the Indo-Pacific. Also, a smaller, coastal form of ''B. brydei'' is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale. The recently described Omura's whale (''B. omurai'', Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. Rice's whale (''B. ricei''), which makes its home solely in the Gulf of Mexico, was once considere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bottlenose Dolphin
The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus''), the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops aduncus''), and Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops erebennus''). Others, like the Burrunan dolphin (''Tursiops (aduncus) australis''), may be alternately considered their own species or be subspecies of ''T. aduncus''. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin ''tursio'' (dolphin) and ''truncatus'' for the truncated teeth (the type specimen was old and had worn down teeth; this is not a typical characteristic of most members of the species). Numerous investigations of bottlenose dolphin intelligence have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
