Research into fish and fisheries in southern Angola, led by Dr Warren Potts and Dr Amber Childs, has been conducted since 2005. Our latest project in the region is looking at the movement and migration patterns of marine animals. In 2013, we partnered with the Ocean Tracking Network (oceantrackingnetwork.org) from Canada and have placed a series of acoustic receivers, with help from the Angolan Ministry of Fisheries, in southern Angolan coastal waters. The placement of the receivers is designed to understand the movements, evaluate the importance of coastal embayments and examine the daily movement patterns of migratory marine animals in the coastal zone of southern Angola. We have surgically implanted acoustic transmitters into 20 adult kob (Argyrosomus coronus) and 20 adult leervis (Lichia amia) and aim to monitor their movements for the next two years ending toward the latter end of 2015.
The next field trip to southern Angola is scheduled to commence in June where we plan to tag bronze whaler sharks (Carcharhinus brachyurus) and retrieve data on the movement of tagged fish from the past 12 months.
For further information on our research, including publications and popular articles, please contact Dr Warren Potts (w.potts@ru.ac.za).