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Our World at Risk
Many Fish in the Sea
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Hilkka Ndjaula used long
‐
term historical records of lengths and weights of fish to
develop an index that can be used to assess changes in the
health of fish populations. An average fish of any species
will weigh a standard amount for a given length, but will
weigh less when it is in poor condition and more when it is
in good condition.
Marine Collaboration
A joint initiative between several laboratories in South Africa
and France, that emerged from collaboration between UCT,
Marine and Coastal Management and the French Institut de
Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), has resulted in the
International Centre for Education, Marine and Atmospheric
Sciences over Africa (ICEMASA) collaboration.
Research Projects
Fish will typically be in good condition when food is
plentiful, as might occur when fish population sizes are
small or when food sources have increased. Dr Ndjaula
used enormous historical data sets to identify periods
of good and bad fish condition for three species of
fish: sardine (
Sardinops sagax
), anchovy (
Engraulis
encrasicolus
) and redeye round herring (
Etruneus
whiteheadi
). She adopted a new statistical method
to analyse the historical length and weight data, in
collaboration with Dr Ken Gerow from the University of
Wyoming, USA, and found a consistent decrease in the
index for all three species over the past decade.
These results indicate common environmental
conditions experienced by the fish on a system
‐
wide
basis. The index is being used in a knowledge-based
system developed by a current PhD student, an
example of cross
‐
pollination across projects within
BASICS. This project is funded by SARChI Research
Chair in Marine Ecology and Fisheries, and BASICS.
ICEMASA focuses on Marine Sciences (marine
ecosystems, resources management, physical
oceanography, ocean-atmosphere exchanges, and
biogeochemistry) over the Southern African coasts
and the Southern Ocean. Its approach is richly
multidisciplinary and is designed to attract collaborators
from the Department of Environmental Affairs (Oceans
and Coasts), the Department of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (Fisheries Branch), UCT (Ma-Re and
the Departments of Oceanography and Biological
Sciences), Laboratoire de Physique des Océans,
Centre de Recherche Halieutique Méditerranéenne et
Tropicale – Ecosystèmes Marins Exploités, Laboratoire
des sciences de l’environnement marin, the IRD,
the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers, and
Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO, France).
ICEMASA works closely with the African Centre for
Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS), a
DST/NRF Centre of Excellence that is hosted at the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. ACCESS
offers various educational programmes that include
workshops and advanced seminars, research projects
and computer modelling.
Under ICEMASA, the IRD provides funding for
postdoctoral research fellows and postgraduate
students as well as for foreign students. Linked to
the ICEMASA initiative, Ma
‐
Re and the IRD received
funding from the PEERS programme for the joint
execution of a research and training project entitled
South-African/French Co-Masters in Marine Sciences
(SAFCOMS). The purpose of this project is to provide
bursary funds to students in marine science master’s
programmes at UCT and UBO for 2012/13.
Under the banner of ICEMASA and hosted by Ma
‐
Re,
five scientists from the IRD presented a postgraduate
course on end
‐
to
‐
end marine ecosystem modelling at
UCT. The course was attended by 25 participants from
all over the world, including Seychelles, France, Kenya,
Senegal, Peru and Holland, as well as South Africa.