Subsistence shellfish harvesting in the Maputaland Marine Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Rocky shore organisms Original Research Article

The shellfish harvest from c. 36 600 woman collecting days in the Maputaland Marine Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was monitored between 1988 and 1994. Mussels Perna perna (185 t), oysters Striostrea margaritacea and Saccostrea cucullata (5 t), red bait Pyura stolonifera (41 t flesh weight) and limpets Patella and Fissurella spp. (144 000 animals) were the main species harvested, although a wide range of organisms was collected opportunistically. Catch and effort were greater in winter than in summer. Very little of the catch was sold. There was a marked spatial separation of the major organisms harvested, which has persisted for generations. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) of mussels, red bait and oysters remained stable over the 7-year period, but CPUE of limpets declined. Harvesting effort decreased by > 50% between 1988 and 1994 because of the gradual development of a cash economy and the return of refugees to Mozambique. Mussel harvests were very much greater than in Transkei, but there appears to be no decline in mussel abundance. Catches were limited by effort rather than supply. Collecting techniques, distribution patterns of the organisms, and the presence of large unharvested adjacent populations may account for stable catches.