SAIAB welcomes 7000 new specimens to its Collection

Approximately 7000 specimens of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and gelatinous pelagic fauna were caught during a 40 day cruise from Reunion Island to Algoa Bay as part of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP) and brought to the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) to be identified and catalogued. Situated in Grahamstown, SAIAB is a National Research Facility of the National Research Foundation and home of the National Fish Collection.

In November 2009, experts in the marine sciences from Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the Seychelles embarked on the fourth and final leg of cruises for SWIOFP. The 40 day cruise on board the Research vessel, Dr Fridtjof Nansen, started in Reunion Island and ended in Algoa Bay. In November 2010, all specimens caught were brought to SAIAB for a workshop on applying an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management with a specific focus on seamounts. The aim of the workshop was to identify and catalogue as much of the collected material as possible and identify new samples that need to be described by the experts. The collection will remain at SAIAB for further study and as a point of reference.

Nkosinathi Mazungula, SAIAB’s Research Assistant was on this cruise collecting Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples from all the specimens caught. “This cruise was particularly significant because the diversity of the region was unfamiliar,” said SAIAB Aquatic Biologist Dr Monica Mwale who assisted in cataloging specimens. “Very little is known of the diversity of the species in the SWIO region,” said Mwale, “and this last cruise aimed at improving the scientific knowledge of seamount ecosystems and their associated biodiversity in the high seas of the southern Indian Ocean.” During the cruise, a total of 40 trawls were undertaken, 32 were at seamount sites and eight were off seamount sites; these were largely undertaken between 300 and 900m below sea level.

The West Indian Ocean is a site renowned for some of the most dynamic and variable large marine ecosystems on the planet. Realising the significance of the region, neighbouring countries have developed a collaborative project that embraces their own fishery-related needs and expectations in a regional and transboundary context. SWIOFP is implemented by the World Bank and is one of a trio of projects linked to Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported projects. The other two projects are the West Indian Ocean Land Based Sources of Pollution (WIOLaB) Project implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Agulhas & Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project (ASCLME) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). SAIAB plays an important role in all three projects.

For further information on the ASCLME Project which is hosted at SAIAB, and its partnerships with other regional and global initiatives, visit the website at http://www.asclme.org/