The biology of the white musselcracker Sparodon durbanensis (Pisces: Sparidae) on the Eastern Cape coast, South Africa

Abstract

Aspects of the biology of the musselcracker Sparodon durbanensis, an important shore-angling species on the south-eastern coast of South Africa, are described from material collected between August 1984 and March 1987. Juvenile fish live in tidal pools and in shallow subtidal waters, where they feed on a variety of small invertebrates and chlorophytes. Larger fish are more common in deeper water down to about 30 m, but they also feed inshore, consuming large invertebrate prey such as gastropods, pelecypods, solitary ascidians, crustaceans and amphineurans. They are rudimentary hermaphrodites, mature at approximately 350 mm fork length and have a restricted breeding season between August and January, during which period they spawn small pelagic eggs. Growth studies based on sectioned sagittal otoliths reveal musselcracker to be slow-growing and long-lived, that both sexes grow at a similar rate and that they can survive to at least 31 years of age. The species is likely to be highly susceptible to overexploitation even though the fish are not commercially exploited, and more stringent management measures are called for to ensure the survival of the species as a recreational angling resource.