Write a geographical account of fishing in Southern Africa under the following headings: (a) important fishing areas and fishing ports (b) Methods of fishin...

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A geographical account of fishing in Southern Africa

Southern Africa is one of the richest fishing regions in the world because the cold Benguela Current flows northward along its western (Atlantic) coast. This current causes upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from the sea bed, which supports enormous quantities of plankton and therefore vast shoals of fish. The map below shows the main fishing grounds and ports.

(a) Important fishing areas and fishing ports

Fishing is carried out in two main settings:

• Offshore (marine) fishing is by far the most important. The richest grounds lie off the cool Atlantic (Benguela Current) coast of Namibia and the western Cape of South Africa, where upwelling supports huge shoals. Fishing also extends along the southern and eastern (Indian Ocean) coasts and into the deep seas of both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
• Inland fishing is minor and much less important. It is carried out on rivers such as the Orange River and the Great Fish River, and on inland lakes and dams by local fishermen.

The chief fishing ports are Walvis Bay (Namibia), and Saldanha Bay, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban in South Africa.

(b) Methods of fishing

• Trawling: large motorised trawlers drag bag-shaped nets along or near the sea bed to catch demersal (bottom-living) fish such as hake. This is the main large-scale method used in the deep oceans.
• Purse-seining and drift/gill netting: nets are used to surround and trap surface-swimming (pelagic) shoal fish such as pilchard and anchovy.
• Line fishing: hooks and lines are used for larger fish such as tuna and snoek.
• Traps and small nets: used by local fishermen inland on rivers, lakes and estuaries on a small scale.

(c) Major types of fish caught

The main catch consists of:

• Pelagic (surface) species - pilchard (sardine), anchovy, herring and mackerel (horse mackerel).
• Demersal (bottom) species - hake (stockfish).
• Other valuable species - tuna, snoek and rock-lobster (crayfish).

(d) Preparation and marketing of fish

Once landed, the fish are cleaned and chilled or frozen on board the vessels and in cold stores on shore. The catch is then either sold fresh, or processed by canning (for example sardines), salting, drying and smoking. Much of the pelagic catch is turned into fish meal and fish oil for animal feed and fertiliser. The products are sold fresh in local markets, distributed inland, and large quantities of frozen, canned and processed fish are exported to Europe and other overseas markets.

(e) Importance to the economy

• It provides a rich and cheap source of protein food for the people.
• The export of frozen fish, canned fish, fish meal and lobster earns valuable foreign exchange for the countries.
• It provides employment for many people in fishing, canning, processing, transport and boat building.
• It has led to the establishment of fish-processing and canning industries and supplies raw material (fish meal) for animal feed and fertiliser, supporting related industries.