How Healthy Are Bass Populations Across Southern Africa?
How healthy are bass populations across southern Africa, and how does their population compare with destinations around the world?
Answer by Dr. Olaf Weyl, Principal Scientist, South Africa Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB).
Populations of Largemouth Bass are healthy and stable in southern Africa. In fact, fishing remains excellent in most regions. The quality of bass fishing in Africa may surprise many anglers.
My research group at SAIAB, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Florida, is currently engaged in a research project that utilizes bass tournament statistics. The data is used to compare southern African bass fisheries to those in the southern regions of the United States. Preliminary results indicate that bass fishing in southern Africa is as good, if not better than the southern states of America.
Like all research, consistent and reliable data is required to reach a scientific conclusion. therefore, researchers have opted to use certified tournament results from southern Africa and from the southern regions of the USA. Tournament rules and oversight ensure reliability. Scientists input this data to develop trends over a long period of time and use it for comparative purposes.
To date the research shows that during tournaments in South Africa more anglers catch limits of fish than in the southern region of America. Bag weights are similar. It should be noted that the southern region of America, which includes the states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, constitute one of the premiere bass fishing regions of North America.
Anglers in Africa who watch American fishing shows on television see only winning bags and huge fish, but for every twenty pound bag highlighted by the media there are many zeros.
Although bass fishing successes and healthy population indicators are good news today, anglers must remain vigilant. Pollution, introduction of fish diseases, excessive harvest, poorly conceptualized fisheries developments and lack of management continue to impact on recreational fisheries throughout southern Africa.
